taciturn
English
WOTD – 12 November 2007
Etymology
Back-formation from taciturnity, from Middle English taciturnite, from Latin taciturnitas; or alternatively from French taciturne, likely reinforced by Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈtæsɪtɝn/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)
- Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.
- The two sisters could hardly have been more different, one so boisterous and expressive, the other so taciturn and calm.
- 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 18:
- We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb.
Synonyms
- (silent): reticent, untalkative
- See also Thesaurus:taciturn
Antonyms
- (silent): garrulous, loquacious
Derived terms
Translations
untalkative, silent
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Catalan
Etymology
From Latin taciturnus.
Pronunciation
Adjective
taciturn (feminine taciturna, masculine plural taciturns, feminine plural taciturnes)
Related terms
Further reading
- “taciturn” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “taciturn” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “taciturn” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “taciturn” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
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