mute
part of speech
adjective (mute); verb (mute, mutes, muted, muting); noun (a mute, mutes)
meaning for a pupil
1) To mute a sound, phone, TV or video call is to turn its sound off so nothing can be heard; the mute button does this. tree →
2) Mute means silent, not speaking: she stayed mute. tree →
3) Muted colours or sounds are soft, quiet or not bright. tree →
4) A mute on a musical instrument, like a trumpet or violin, is something that makes its sound quieter or different. tree →
5) (old-fashioned, now offensive) Mute was once used for a person who cannot speak; today we say «non-speaking» or «a person who does not speak». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah the letter Mem is called mute, like water, in contrast to Shin which hisses like fire. Interpretation: The book says Aleph, air, stands between mute water and hissing fire and makes peace between them. In the primary lessons: In everyday life and online classes «mute» is very common: «You're on mute!», «Please mute your microphone.» In stories a character may be «struck mute» with surprise. In music lessons a trumpet mute changes the sound. Phrases: on mute, mute button, mute yourself, mute the TV, muted colours, a mute swan.
examples
- The three fundamental letters א״מ״ש signify, as מ is mute like the water and ש hissing like the fire, there is א among them, a breath of air which reconciles them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- The Three are Water, Air and Fire ; Fire above, Water below, and Air conciliating between them ; and the sign of these things is that the Fire sustains (volatilizes) the waters ; Mem is mute. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- Please mute your microphone when the teacher is talking. tree →
- Dad, you're still on mute! tree →
- She muted the TV during the adverts. tree →
- He stood mute with shock. tree →
- The room was painted in muted greens and greys. tree →
- The trumpet player put a mute in his trumpet. tree →
- A mute swan is a white swan with an orange beak. tree →
- You can mute a group chat if it gets too noisy. tree →
- But Night stood still and mute. tree →
note
Verb forms: mute, mutes, muted, muting. «On mute» = sound off; «unmute» = turn sound back on. In spelling, a «silent letter» is sometimes called a mute letter (the k in «knee»). Be kind: calling a person «mute» can be hurtful; say they do not speak or use sign language. A mute swan is not silent; it can hiss and snort.
In the corpora
- Most consoles and games let you mute your microphone and let parents limit voice chat to friends.
- Then he remembered his dad's four words: mute, block, report, tell.
- He muted the man (the silence was wonderful), blocked him, and his dad showed him the report button.
- Ruby heard grown-up strangers swearing on voice chat and muted all voice chat in the settings.
- Mute, block, report and tell a grown-up are the four tools against a nasty player.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mute» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.