taciturn

UK/ˈtæsɪtɜːn/US/ˈtæs.ɪˌtɝn/

adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,366 of 15,258neutralformal · an editor’s judgement

Taciturn means saying very little by nature. Not sulking — simply not a talker.

The permanence is the point, since somebody taciturn is like that always, which is what separates it from silent or quiet on a particular occasion. It is a neutral or even respectful word, and a taciturn man in fiction is usually to be trusted. It comes from the same Latin root as tacit, meaning understood without being said. Its opposite is garrulous, meaning tiresomely talkative.

Definitions of taciturn

1adjectivetaciturnHabitually saying very little.C2
“He was a taciturn man who answered in single words.”

Remember it

The Latin tacitus is silent — the tacit in a tacit agreement, the kind nobody says out loud. A taciturn man is silent by habit: ask him anything and he turns to the window rather than answer.

hooks ontotacit turn

Where it comes from

Taciturn came into English backwards. Taciturnity arrived first, from Latin taciturnitās, and the adjective was cut out of the noun afterwards. Behind both is tacitus, silent, which also gives tacit.

French
taciturne
Latin
taciturnitās
Middle English
taciturnite
English, today
taciturn

Built from

tacitus · Latin — secret, tacit

a back-formation from taciturnity, from Middle English taciturnite, from Latin taciturnitās; or alternatively from French taciturne, likely reinforced by Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 12 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

taciturn in the wild

In Buffy, Oz is a taciturn, guitar-playing teen who becomes Willow's (Alyson Hannigan) boyfriend.
Oz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
For example, a working childe would mean a working man, while a dour childe would indicate a taciturn individual.
Childe
The taciturn governor refused the court's offer to become king in 1367, and instead became one of the four top commanders of the eventual king, Swa Saw Ke.
Thilawa of Yamethin
Gryllus ovisopis, the taciturn wood cricket, is a species of cricket in the subfamily Gryllinae.
Gryllus ovisopis
Gryllus cayensis, known generally as the keys wood cricket or South Florida taciturn wood cricket, is a species of cricket in the subfamily Gryllinae.
Gryllus cayensis

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the tacitus family

taciturn tacit

taciturn — used about once every 20,553 pages · #13,366 · point at the bar for the others

taciturnity

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