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

• IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
• IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɝn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)

1. 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: reticent, untalkative; see also Thesaurus:taciturn

   Antonyms: garrulous, loquacious

Derived terms

• taciturnity
• taciturnly

Related terms

• tacit
• tacitly
• tacitness

Translations

untalkative, silent

• Belarusian: маўклі́вы (maŭklívy), негаманлі́вы (njehamanlívy)
• Bulgarian: мълчалив (bg) (mǎlčaliv), необщителен (bg) (neobštitelen)
• Catalan: taciturn (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沉默寡言 (zh) (chénmòguǎyán), 沉默 (zh) (chénmò)

• Czech: mlčenlivý (cs), nemluvný
• Dutch: zwijgzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: silentema
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi), jörö (fi)
• French: taciturne (fr)
• Galician: taciturno
• Georgian: სიტყვაძვირი (siṭq̇vaʒviri), სიტყვაძუნწი (siṭq̇vaʒunc̣i), ენაუთქმელი (enautkmeli), სიტყვაუთქმელი (siṭq̇vautkmeli), სულგაკმენდილი (sulgaḳmendili), სულგანაბული (sulganabuli), უსიტყვო (usiṭq̇vo)
• German: schweigsam (de), wortkarg (de), maulfaul (de)
• Greek: λακωνικός (el) (lakonikós), ολιγόλογος (el) (oligólogos), σιωπηλός (el) (siopilós)

  Ancient: ἐχέμυθος (ekhémuthos), σιωπητικός (siōpētikós)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hallgatag (hu)
• Ido: tacera, tacema (io)
• Italian: taciturno (it)
• Japanese: 無口 (ja) (むくち, mukuchi), 寡黙 (ja) (かもく, kamoku)
• Latin: taciturnus
• Macedonian: ќутлив m (ḱutliv), молчелив m (molčeliv)
• Maori: whakarikiriki, hauarea, hauwarea
• Persian: کم حرف (fa) (kam harf), کم گوی (kam guy)
• Polish: małomówny (pl), milczący (pl), milkliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: taciturno (pt)
• Russian: молчали́вый (ru) (molčalívyj), неразгово́рчивый (ru) (nerazgovórčivyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шу̀тљив, муча̀љив, неразговорљив

  Roman: šùtljiv (sh) m, mučàljiv (sh) m, nerazgovorljiv (sh) m

• Spanish: taciturno (es)
• Swedish: fåordig (sv), tystlåten (sv), ordkarg (sv), ordknapp
• Ukrainian: мовчазни́й (movčaznýj), мовчазли́вий (movčazlývyj)
• Westrobothnian:

Anagrams

• tinctura, urticant

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin taciturnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [tə.siˈturn]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ta.siˈtuɾn]

Adjective

taciturn (feminine taciturna, masculine plural taciturns, feminine plural taciturnes)

1. taciturn

Related terms

• tàcit

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, 2024
• “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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Romanian

Etymology

From French taciturne, from Latin taciturnus.

Adjective

taciturn m or n (feminine singular taciturnă, masculine plural taciturni, feminine and neuter plural taciturne)

1. taciturn

Declension

Declension of taciturn

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	taciturn		taciturnă	taciturni	taciturne
	definite	taciturnul		taciturna	taciturnii	taciturnele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	taciturn		taciturne	taciturni	taciturne
	definite	taciturnului		taciturnei	taciturnilor	taciturnelor

Related terms

• taciturnitate