1. (v. t.) To cast off; to molt.

2. (v. t. & i.) To eject the contents of the bowels; -- said of birds.

3. (n.) The dung of birds.

4. (a.) Not speaking; uttering no sound; silent.

5. (a.) Incapable of speaking; dumb.

6. (a.) Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; -- said of certain letters. See 5th Mute, 2.

7. (a.) Not giving a ringing sound when struck; -- said of a metal.

8. (n.) One who does not speak, whether from physical inability, unwillingness, or other cause.

9. (n.) One who, from deafness, either congenital or from early life, is unable to use articulate language; a deaf-mute.

10. (n.) A person employed by undertakers at a funeral.

11. (n.) A person whose part in a play does not require him to speak.

12. (n.) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is selected for his place because he can not speak.

13. (n.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent letter; also, a close articulation; an element of speech formed by a position of the mouth organs which stops the passage of the breath; as, p, b, d, k, t.

14. (n.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect position on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument, in order to deaden or soften the tone.

abiotic acoustic tile allophone alveolar anaudic antiknock aphasic aphonic apico-alveolar apico-dental articulation aspiration assimilation azoic baffle baffler baton bearer bilabial bit player breathless brief brusque cacuminal cerebral check close close-tongued closemouthed concise consonant continuant curt cushion damp dampen dampener damper deaden deaf-mute deafen dental diapason diphthong dissimilation dull dumb dumbfounded dumbstricken dumbstruck dummy economical of words epenthetic vowel exanimate explosive extra figurant figurante gag glide glottal glottalization griever guttural hush hushcloth inanimate inanimated inarticulate indisposed to talk inert insensate insensible insentient keener labial labialization labiodental labiovelar laconic lamenter laryngeal lateral lifeless lingual liquid manner of articulation metronome modification monochord monophthong morphophoneme mourner muffle muffler mum music stand muzzle nasal nonconscious nonliving occlusive palatal pallbearer parasitic vowel peak pharyngeal pharyngealization phone phoneme pitch pipe plosive professional mourner prothetic vowel quiet quietener reserved retroflex rhythmometer segmental phoneme semivowel senseless short silence silence cloth silencer silent snug soft pedal soft-pedal soften sonant sonometer sonority sordine sordino soulless sound-absorbing material soundproofing soundproofing insulation sourdine sparing of words spear-carrier speech sound speechless stand-in standby stick stifle stop stricken dumb subdue substitute supe super supernumerary support supporting actor supporting cast suppress surd syllabic nucleus syllabic peak syllable tacit taciturn terse tight-lipped tone down tone measurer tongue-tied tongueless transition sound triphthong tuning bar tuning fork tuning pipe turn down unanimated unconscious understudy unfeeling unloquacious unsaid unspoken untalkative velar vocable vocalic vocoid voice voiced sound voiceless voiceless sound voicing vowel walk-on walking gentleman word-bound wordless