Where does “taciturn” come from?
Taciturn derives from Middle English taciturnite, from Latin taciturnitas, ultimately from the Latin root tacitus meaning silent, from taceo meaning to be silent.
taciturn (English): Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined...
Definitions
- Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined...
Ancestry of “taciturn”, step by step
taciturn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English taciturnity
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | taciturnity | The trait of being taciturn; Failure to assert a... |
| 2 | Middle English | taciturnite | — |
| 3 | Latin | taciturnitas | silence (keeping silent), taciturnity |
| 4 | Latin | taciturnus | untalkative, taciturn, quiet, silent |
| 5 | Latin | Tacitus | A Roman cognomen, notably borne by Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c.56-117), a historian of ancient Rome and Marcus Claudius Tacitus (c.200-275), a Roman emperor |
| 6 | Latin | taceo | I am silent, say nothing, shut up, hold my... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | takēō | be silent |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tak- | to be silent |
via French taciturne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | taciturne | taciturn |