Webster's English Dictionary

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mute

1. mute \'myu:t\ \'myu:t-.iz-*m\ aj [ME muet, fr. MF, fr. OF mu, fr. L 
   mutus; akin to OHG maB-wen to cry out, Gk myte-s mute 1: unable to speak : 
   DUMB  2a: characterized by absence of speech  2b: refusing to plead 
   directly or stand trial {the prisoner stands ~)R} 3a: contributing nothing 
   to the pronunciation of a word {the b in  plumb is ~} 3b: contributing to 
   the pronunciation of a word but not representing the n ucleus of a syllable 
   {the e in mate is ~} - mute.ly av
2. mute n 1: a person who cannot or does not speak  2: STOP  3: a device on 
   a musical instrument serving to reduce, soften, or muffle it s tone
3. mute vt 1: to muffle or reduce the sound of  2: to tone down (a color) 
4. mute vi [ME muten, fr. MF meutir] of a bird  : VOID