Mute - Definition and Overview

Mute comes from "mutus", Latin for mum. The term mute can mean more than one thing:

• in mute (music);
• an old term for a person who is unable to speak, now generally considered an offensive term (see speech disorder);
• one refusing to speak;
• an undertaker's assistant;
• Mute, a record label;
• Mute, the name of a UK Arts Magazine;
• MUTE, a peer-to-peer file-sharing network;
• to squelch an appliance's or musical instrument's volume;
• a silent or plosive letter.