mutus

mūtus, a, um, adj. [root mu-, to shut; Sanscr. mūkas, dumb; Gr. mutis, muaô; cf. Lat. mussare], dumb, mute (class.; cf.: infans, elinguis).

I.

Lit., that does not speak, silent.—Of creatures who do not possess the faculty of speech, and can utter only inarticulate sounds:

pecudes,

Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8, § 24:

bestiae,

id. Fin. 1, 21, 71:

agna,

Hor. S. 2, 3, 219:

armenta,

Stat. Th. 5, 334:

animalia,

Juv. 8, 56:

satius est mutum esse quam quod nemo intellegat dicere,

Cic. Phil. 3, 9, 22:

subjugale, animal,

Vulg. 2 Pet. 2, 16:

vere dici potest, magistratum legem esse loquentem, legem autem mutum magistratum,

Cic. Leg. 3, 1, 2: papae! Jugularas hominem: quid ille? Thr. Mutus illico, he was struck speechless, was silent, could not say a word more, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 27:

ad mandata mancus est, caecus, mutus,

Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 45: mutum dices, you shall call me dumb, i. e. I will not say a word, id. Heaut. 4, 4, 26:

omnis pro nobis gratia muta fuit,

has not spoken a word, Ov. P. 2, 7, 52:

mutus aspectus miserorum lacrimas movet,

Quint. 6, 1, 26:

numquam vox est de te mea muta,

i. e. I have never ceased to praise thee, Ov. Tr. 5, 14, 17:

dolore lyra est,

id. H. 15, 198:

spiritus,

which makes one mute, Vulg. Marc. 9, 16; 9, 24.—Of that which utters no sound, dumb, mute, silent:

tintinnabulum,

Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 163:

imago,

Cic. Cat. 3, 5:

mare,

the silent sea, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 69:

consonantes,

which cannot be pronounced alone, mutes, Quint. 1, 4, 6: artes, the plastic arts, arts of design, opp. to eloquence, Cic. de Or. 3, 7; also, artes, the silent arts, i. e. which do not concern themselves with language, as medicine, Verg. A. 12, 397:

scientia,

i. e. which does not impart the power of speaking, Quint. 5, 10, 119:

instrumentum fundi,

i. e. wagons, carts, Varr. R. R. 1, 17:

magistri,

i. e. books, Gell. 14, 2, 1:

lapides,

that say nothing, have no inscriptions on them, Hyg. de Lim. p. 156 Goes.: muta exta dicuntur, quibus nihil divinationis aut deorum responsi inesse animadvertunt, contra adjutoria, quae certum aliquid eventurum indicant, Paul. ex Fest. p. 157 Müll.:

simulacra muta,

dumb idols, Vulg. 1 Cor. 12, 2.—

II.

Transf., of places where no sound is heard, silent, still:

mutum forum, elinguem curiam, tacitam et fractam civitatem videbatis,

Cic. post Red. 1, 3:

solitudo,

id. Mil. 19:

spelunca,

Stat. Ach. 1, 239.—Of times:

nullum fuit tempus, quod magis debuerit mutum esse a litteris,

in which nothing should have been written, Cic. Att. 8, 14, 1:

silentia noctis,

the deep silence of night, Ov. M. 7, 184.—Of things of which nothing is said:

mutum aevum,

not celebrated, unsung, Sil. 3, 579.—As subst.

A.

mūtus, i, m., a dumb person, a mute (ante- and postclass): Char. Quin taces? Eut. Muto imperas, Plaut. Merc. 2, 4, 26: sicut mutus, Vulg. [p. 1182] Psa. 38, 13:

aperta erit lingua mutorum,

id. Isa. 35, 6; Lact. 4, 15, 8:

mutum neque stipulari neque promittere posse palam est,

Gai. Inst. 3, 105.—

B.

mūtum, i, n. (sc. animal), a dumb creature, brute:

separat hoc nos A grege mutorum,

Juv. 15, 143.