taciturnity

American  

[tas-i-tur-ni-tee] / ˌtæs ɪˈtɜr nɪ ti /

noun

1. the state or quality of being reserved or reticent in conversation.

2. Scots Law. the relinquishing of a legal right through an unduly long delay, as by the silence of the creditor.

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Etymology

Origin of taciturnity

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin taciturnitās, equivalent to taciturn ( us ) taciturn + -itās -ity

Explanation

If you comment on your best friend's taciturnity, it means that he is usually very quiet and reserved. Use the noun taciturnity to describe the quality of people who don't reveal much information. A person's taciturnity might be a result of her shyness, her dislike of gossip and idle chatter, or her bad case of laryngitis. The Latin root of taciturnity is taciturnitatem, "a being or keeping silent," and it in turn comes from the Latin word for "silent," tacitus.

Example Sentences

B. Not for a fashionable novel.—"There he stood, like Taciturnity bowing at the feet of proud Authority."

From Olla Podrida by Marryat, Frederick

Taciturnity is seldom more strikingly out of place than under such circumstances, and the penalties imposed took account not only of Penrod's tardiness but of his supposititious defiance of authority in declining to speak.

From Penrod and Sam by Tarkington, Booth

She is the very Magazine of Taciturnity; for whatever she sees, she says nothing; it being a standing Maxim with her, That they that cannot make Sport, shou'd spoil none.

From The London-Bawd: With Her Character and Life Discovering the Various and Subtle Intrigues of Lewd Women by Anonymous

Taciturnity was a striking feature in DeQuincey's character, and was, no doubt, owing to intense mental action.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 4, April, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various

My Obscurity and Taciturnity leave me at Liberty, without Scandal, to dine, if I think fit, at a common Ordinary, in the meanest as well as the most sumptuous House of Entertainment.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph