Mute swan (Zoöl.), a European wild white swan (Cygnus gibbus), which
produces no loud notes.
Syn. -- Silent; dumb; speechless. -- Mute, Silent, Dumb. One is silent
who does not speak; one is dumb who can not, for want of the proper
organs; as, a dumb beast, etc.; and hence, figuratively, we speak of a
person as struck dumb with astonishment, etc. One is mute who is held
back from speaking by some special cause; as, he was mute through fear;
mute astonishment, etc. Such is the case with most of those who never
speak from childhood; they are not ordinarily dumb, but mute because
they are deaf, and therefore never learn to talk; and hence their more
appropriate name is deaf-mutes.
They spake not a word; But, like dumb statues, or breathing stones,
Gazed each on other.
Shak.
All sat mute, Pondering the danger with deep thoughts.
Milton.
Mute, n. 1. One who does not speak, whether from physical inability,
unwillingness, or other cause. Specifically: (a) One who, from
deafness, either congenital or from early life, is unable to use
articulate language; a deaf-mute. (b) A person employed by undertakers
at a funeral. (c) A person whose part in a play does not require him to
speak. (d) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is selected for
his place because he can not speak.
2. (Phon.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent letter; also, a
close articulation; an element of speech formed by a position of the
mouth organs which stops the passage of the breath; as, p, b, d, k, t.
3. (Mus.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other material, so
formed that it can be fixed in an erect position on the bridge of a
violin, or similar instrument, in order to deaden or soften the tone.