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mute
mute / myoōt/ • adj. 1. refraining from speech or temporarily speechless: Irene, the talkative one, was now mute. ∎ not expressed in speech: she gazed at him in mute appeal. ∎ characterized by an absence of sound; quiet: the great church was mute and dark. ∎ dated, chiefly offens. (of a person) without the power of speech. 2. (of a letter) not pronounced: mute e is generally dropped before suffixes beginning with a vowel. • n. 1. date, usu. offens. a person without the power of speech. ∎ hist. (in some Asian countries) a servant who was deprived of the power of speech. ∎ hist. an actor in a dumbshow. ∎ hist. a professional attendant or mourner at a funeral. 2. a device that softens the sound (and typically alters the tone) of a musical instrument, in particular: ∎ a clamp placed over the bridge of a stringed instrument to deaden the resonance without affecting the vibration of the strings. ∎ a pad or cone placed in the opening of a brass or other wind instrument. 3. a device on a television, telephone, or other appliance that temporarily turns off the sound: she put the remote on mute. • v. [tr.] 1. (often be muted) deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of: her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet. ∎ muffle the sound of (a musical instrument), esp. by the use of a mute. ∎ fig. reduce the strength or intensity of: his professional contentment was muted by personal sadness. 2. turn off (the sound on a television, telephone, or other appliance) by activating the mute: he turns the set on, mutes the sound, but flicks through the channels. DERIVATIVES: mute·ly adv. mute·ness n. |
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Cite this article
"mute." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mute." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mute.html "mute." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mute.html |
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mute
mute. A mechanical device used to reduce the tonal vol. of an instr. and usually indicated by the term con sordini. (1) In bowed instr. a small clamp to be placed on the bridge. (2) In brass instr. a pear-shaped stopper to be pushed into the bell or, in the case of the hn., putting the hand in the bell. It is impossible to mute woodwind instr. (3) With the kettledrums muting was formerly effected by placing a cloth over the parchment heads but it is usual now to employ sponge-headed drumsticks instead. (4) In the pf. the sound is muted by the left (soft) pedal. The mute should not be confused with the damper.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-mute.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-mute.html |
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mute
mute silent, dumb. XIV. Early forms also mewet, muwet; — (O)F. muet, dim. formation on OF. mu :- L. mūtus, f. symbolic syll. *mu as in Gr. múndos, mukós, Skr. mū́ka- dumb, Arm. munj, and MUTTER. The form became permanently assim. to L. XVI.
Hence vb. XIX. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mute.html T. F. HOAD. "mute." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mute.html |
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mute
mute , in music, device designed to diminish uniformly the loudness of a musical instrument. For example, a trumpet mute is cone-shaped and fits into the instrument's bell, and a violin mute is a wooden or rubber clamp that can be attached to the bridge. |
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Cite this article
"mute." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mute." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-mute.html "mute." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-mute.html |
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Mute
Mutepack of hounds—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486. |
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Cite this article
"Mute." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Mute." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301009.html "Mute." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301009.html |
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mute
mute •acute, argute, astute, beaut, Beirut, boot, bruit, brut, brute, Bute, butte, Canute, cheroot, chute, commute, compute, confute, coot, cute, depute, dilute, dispute, flute, fruit, galoot, hoot, impute, jute, loot, lute, minute, moot, mute, newt, outshoot, permute, pollute, pursuit, recruit, refute, repute, root, route, salute, Salyut, scoot, shoot, Shute, sloot, snoot, subacute, suit, telecommute, Tonton Macoute, toot, transmute, undershoot, uproot, Ute, volute
•Paiute • jackboot • freeboot • top boot
•snow boot • gumboot • marabout
•statute • bandicoot • Hakluyt
•archlute • absolute • dissolute
•irresolute, resolute
•jackfruit • passion fruit • breadfruit
•grapefruit • snakeroot • beetroot
•arrowroot • autoroute
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Cite this article
"mute." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mute." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mute.html "mute." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mute.html |
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