Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined...

Ancestry of “taciturn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtaciturnityThe trait of being taciturn; Failure to assert a...
2Middle Englishtaciturnite—
3Latintaciturnitassilence , taciturnity
4Latintaciturnusuntalkative, taciturn, quiet, silent
5LatinTacitus—
6LatintaceoI am silent, say nothing, shut up, hold my...
7Proto-Italictakēōbe silent
8Proto-Indo-Europeantak-to be silent

Words derived from “taciturn”

  • taciturnity
  • taciturnly
  • taciturnist
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tak- →