different between silence vs whisht

English

Etymology

From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”). Displaced native Old English sw??e.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?sa?.l?ns/
• Rhymes: -a?l?ns

Noun

silence (usually uncountable, plural silences)

1. The absence of any sound.
2. The act of refraining from speaking.
   • D. Webster

     The administration itself keeps a profound silence.

3. Form of meditative worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers); meeting for worship.

Synonyms

• quietness

Derived terms

Related terms

• silent

Translations

Verb

silence (third-person singular simple present silences, present participle silencing, simple past and past participle silenced)

1. (transitive) To make (someone or something) silent.

   Synonym: mute

2. (transitive) To repress the expression of something.

3. (transitive) To suppress criticism, etc.
4. (molecular biology) To block gene expression.
5. (euphemistic) To murder.

Derived terms

• silencer

Translations

See also

• quiet, noise, loud, deaf, audible.

Interjection

silence

1. (imperative) Be silent.

   Silence! Enough of your insolence!

Synonyms

• be quiet
• hush
• whist

Translations

Anagrams

• license, selenic

French

Etymology

Latin silentium (“silence”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.l??s/
• Homophone: silences

Noun

silence m (plural silences)

1. silence

Antonyms

• bruit
• cacophonie
• mélodie
• musique

Derived terms

• le silence est d'or
• minute de silence
• passer sous silence
• porte-silence
• réduire au silence
• silence, moteur, action
• silencieusement
• silencieux

Further reading

• “silence” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Ido

Etymology

silenco (“silence”) +? -e (indicates an adverb).

Adverb

silence

1. noiselessly, silently, quietly

Related terms

• silencoza

Middle English

Alternative forms

• scilence, scylence, scilense, silens, sylence, scielence, cilence

Etymology

From Old French silence, from Latin silentium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si??l?ns(?)/, /si?l?ns(?)/

Noun

silence (uncountable)

1. Silence; the state of refraining or refusing to speak.
2. Peace, calm; a state of tranquil and restful behaviour.
3. Quietness; a lack of sound or speaking (for a given area or time).
4. Refraining from excessive speaking or talking.
5. The following of a religious vow of silence.
6. (rare) The termination of a dispute or conflict.
7. (rare) Secrecy or freedom from disruption.

Descendants

• English: silence
• Scots: seelence

References

• “s??lence, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-03.

Middle French

Noun

silence f (plural silences)

1. silence (absence of noise)

English

Alternative forms

• wheesht
• whish
• whist

Interjection

whisht

1. (Irish and British, chiefly Scotland, Ireland) Shush, silence, be quiet!
   • 1952, Neville Shute, The Far Country, London: Heinemann, Chapter Nine,^[1]

     “You must have loved him very much,” she said.

     “Whisht,” said the old woman, “there’s a word that you must never use until there's marrying between you […] ”

2. A sound often used to calm livestock, cattle, sheep etc.

Translations

References

• Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, ?ISBN

Scots

Alternative forms

• wheesht

Interjection

whisht

1. a call for silence, hush!

Verb

whisht (third-person singular present whishts, present participle whishtin, past whishtit, past participle whishtit)

1. to call for silence, to say whisht
2. (transitive) to silence (someone)
3. (intransitive) to be silent

Noun

whisht (plural whishts)

1. (usually negative) a slight sound, a whisper
2. (rare, poetic) silence

Derived terms

• keep one's whisht (“to hold one's tongue”)

Adjective

whisht (not comparable)

1. (archaic) hushed, quiet

References

• “Whisht, interj., v., n., adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–, OCLC 57069714, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, ?OCLC