taciturnity

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From taciturn +‎ -ity, from Latin taciturnitās.

Noun

[edit]

taciturnity (countable and uncountable, plural taciturnities)

  1. The trait of being taciturn.
    • 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter VI, page 69:
      Humphries broke out more freely into speech than he had done before, for his usual characteristic was that of taciturnity.
    • 1951 February, Michael Robbins, “Sir Walter Scott and Two Early Railway Schemes”, in Railway Magazine, page 90:
      " [] and as Mr. H., with his long purse and his willingness to receive hints, is no bad card in the game, he has been brought up to Abbotsford for a week; his taciturnity has long ago fled, and he is one of the most loquacious Borderers going. [] "
    • 2021 May 3, Adam Liptak, “Justice Clarence Thomas, Long Silent, Has Turned Talkative”, in The New York Times:
      Once he is back on the bench, will Justice Thomas revert to his usual taciturnity?
  2. (law, Scotland) Failure to assert a legal right in a way that implies that it is being given up.

Translations

[edit]