adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
mūtus
mūtus (feminine mūta, neuter mūtum)
Classical[ˈmuː.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈmuː.tus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivemute, dumb, silent, unable to speak, inarticulate
Ōra formīdō mūta claudit.
The fear closes the mouths mute.DĀVUS: Utinam aut hic surdus aut haec mūta facta sit!
DAVUS: If only this [man] were deaf or this [woman] were mute! (The meaning in its comical context: if only he hadn’t listened or she hadn’t said anything.)166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 463 - New LatinadjectiveUsed as a specific epithet.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī loquī nōn potest.mūtus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum
quī nōn loquiturmūtus -a -um — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 23
quī loquī nōn potestmūtus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 7, 10, Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 13 and Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 12, 14
quī loquī nōn potest, tacitusmūtus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, †
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | mūtus | mūta | mūtum |
| genitive | mūtī | mūtae | mūtī |
| dative | mūtō | mūtae | mūtō |
| accusative | mūtum | mūtam | mūtum |
| ablative | mūtō | mūtā | mūtō |
| vocative | mūte | mūta | mūtum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | mūtī | mūtae | mūta |
| genitive | mūtōrum | mūtārum | mūtōrum |
| dative | mūtīs | mūtīs | mūtīs |
| accusative | mūtōs | mūtās | mūta |
| ablative | mūtīs | mūtīs | mūtīs |
| vocative | mūtī | mūtae | mūta |
mūtus, a, um, adj. root mu-, to shut; Sanscr. mūkas, dumb; Gr. μύτις, μυάω; cf. Lat. mussare,
I. dumb, mute (class.; cf.: infans, elinguis).
I. Lit., that does not speak, silent.—Of creatures who do not possess the faculty of speech, and can utter only inarticulate sounds:
pecudes, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8, § 24: bestiae, id. Fin. 1, 21, 71: agna, Hor. S. 2, 3, 219: armenta, Stat. Th. 5, 334: animalia, Juv. 8, 56: satius est mutum esse quam quod nemo intellegat dicere, Cic. Phil. 3, 9, 22: subjugale, animal, Vulg. 2 Pet. 2, 16: vere dici potest, magistratum legem esse loquentem, legem autem mutum magistratum, Cic. Leg. 3, 1, 2: papae! Jugularas hominem: quid ille? Thr. Mutus illico, he was struck speechless, was silent, could not say a word more, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 27: ad mandata mancus est, caecus, mutus, Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 45: mutum dices, you shall call me dumb, i. e. I will not say a word, id. Heaut. 4, 4, 26: omnis pro nobis gratia muta fuit, has not spoken a word, Ov. P. 2, 7, 52: mutus aspectus miserorum lacrimas movet, Quint. 6, 1, 26: numquam vox est de te mea muta, i. e. I have never ceased to praise thee, Ov. Tr. 5, 14, 17: dolore lyra est, id. H. 15, 198: spiritus, which makes one mute, Vulg. Marc. 9, 16; 9, 24.—Of that which utters no sound, dumb, mute, silent: tintinnabulum, Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 163: imago, Cic. Cat. 3, 5: mare, the silent sea, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 69: consonantes, which cannot be pronounced alone, mutes, Quint. 1, 4, 6: artes, the plastic arts, arts of design, opp. to eloquence, Cic. de Or. 3, 7; also, artes, the silent arts, i. e. which do not concern themselves with language, as medicine, Verg. A. 12, 397: scientia, i. e. which does not impart the power of speaking, Quint. 5, 10, 119: instrumentum fundi, i. e. wagons, carts, Varr. R. R. 1, 17: magistri, i. e. books, Gell. 14, 2, 1: lapides, that say nothing, have no inscriptions on them, Hyg. de Lim. p. 156 Goes.: muta exta dicuntur, quibus nihil divinationis aut deorum responsi inesse animadvertunt, contra adjutoria, quae certum aliquid eventurum indicant, Paul. ex Fest. p. 157 Müll.: simulacra muta, dumb idols, Vulg. 1 Cor. 12, 2.— II. Transf., of places where no sound is heard, silent, still:
mutum forum, elinguem curiam, tacitam et fractam civitatem videbatis, Cic. post Red. 1, 3: solitudo, id. Mil. 19: spelunca, Stat. Ach. 1, 239.—Of times: nullum fuit tempus, quod magis debuerit mutum esse a litteris, in which nothing should have been written, Cic. Att. 8, 14, 1: silentia noctis, the deep silence of night, Ov. M. 7, 184.—Of things of which nothing is said: mutum aevum, not celebrated, unsung, Sil. 3, 579.—As subst. A. mūtus, i, m., a dumb person, a mute (ante- and postclass): Char. Quin taces? Eut. Muto imperas, Plaut. Merc. 2, 4, 26: sicut mutus, Vulg. Psa. 38, 13:
aperta erit lingua mutorum, id. Isa. 35, 6; Lact. 4, 15, 8: mutum neque stipulari neque promittere posse palam est, Gai. Inst. 3, 105.—B. mūtum, i, n. (sc. animal), a dumb creature, brute:
separat hoc nos A grege mutorum, Juv. 15, 143.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mūtus adj.
3 MV-, dumb, mute, speechless, without speech : pecudes: agna, H.: animalia, Iu.: satius est mutum esse quam dicere, etc.—Plur. as subst: grex mutorum, brutes , Iu.— Not speaking, silent, mute : mutum dices, i. e. I will not say a word , T.: Omnis pro nobis gratia muta fuit, has not spoken a word , O.: vox, silent , O.: artes, the arts of design (opp. eloquence): artes, silent arts (not famous), V.—Of place or time, silent, still : forum: tempus magis mutum a litteris, i. e. in which there was better reason for not writing : silentia noctis, deep , O.
Origins
From an imitative Proto-Indo-European root *mewH- (“to mutter, say mu”), related to Sanskrit मूक॑ (mū́ka, “mute”), मुनि॑ (múni, “ascetic (i.e. one who has taken a vow of silence)”), Ancient Greek μῠνδός (mŭndós, “mute”), Old Armenian մունջ (munǰ, “dumb, mute”).
Descendants
- Catalanmut
- Englishmute
- Frenchmuet
- GermanMuta
- Italianmuto
- Occitanmut
- Portuguesemudo
- Romanianmut
- Sardinianmudu
- Sardinianmutu