Main Entry: ¹mute

Pronunciation: \ˈmyüt\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): mut·er; mut·est

Etymology: Middle English muet, mut, from Anglo-French, from mu, mute, from Latin mutus, probably from mu, representation of a muttered sound

Date: 1513

1 : unable to speak : lacking the power of speech
2 : characterized by absence of speech: as a : felt or experienced but not expressed <touched her hand in mute sympathy> b : refusing to plead directly or stand trial <the prisoner stands mute>
3 : remaining silent, undiscovered, or unrecognized
4 a : contributing nothing to the pronunciation of a word <the b in plumb is mute> b : contributing to the pronunciation of a word but not representing the nucleus of a syllable <the e in mate is mute>

— mute·ly adverb

— mute·ness noun