adj., n., & v.
adj. 1 silent, refraining from or temporarily bereft of speech. 2 not emitting articulate sound. 3 (of a person or animal) dumb. 4 not expressed in speech (mute protest). 5 a (of a letter) not pronounced. b (of a consonant) plosive. 6 (of hounds) not giving tongue.
n. 1 a dumb person (a deaf mute). 2 Mus. a a clamp for damping the resonance of the strings of a violin etc. b a pad or cone for damping the sound of a wind instrument. 3 an unsounded consonant. 4 an actor whose part is in a dumb show. 5 a dumb servant in oriental countries. 6 a hired mourner.
v.tr. 1 deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of (a thing, esp. a musical instrument). 2 a tone down, make less intense. b (as muted adj.) (of colours etc.) subdued (a muted green). mute button a device on a telephone etc. to temporarily prevent the caller from hearing what is being said at the receiver's end. mute swan the common white swan. mutely adv. muteness n.
[ ME f. OF muet, dimin. of mu f. L mutus, assim. to L ]