# quiet
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".

### Pronunciation

* enPR: kwī'ĭt, IPA: /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt/
* (weak vowel merger) enPR: kwī'ət, IPA: /ˈkwaɪ.ət/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɪət
* Hyphenation: qui‧et

### Adjective

quiet (comparative quieter or more quiet, superlative quietest or most quiet)
* With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.
    Synonyms: hushed, muffled; see also Thesaurus:quiet
    Antonyms: loud; see also Thesaurus:noisy
    I can't hear the music; it is too quiet.
** 1982, Donald Appleyard, Livable Streets, page 98:On the light streets, better streetcleaners, more trees, more police, and quieter buses were the most popular improvements, followed by cutting down the number of cars and improving children's play space.
** 1999 April 5, William Safire, “Essay; The Quiet Noisemaker”, in The New York Times‎:Before long, the unsuspecting salesman was earnestly pitching him "the quietest noisemaker on the market."
* Having little motion or activity; calm.
    Synonyms: placid, serene; see also Thesaurus:calm
    the sea was quiet
    a quiet night at home
    all quiet on the Western front
* Not busy, of low quantity.
    Synonyms: slow, unbusy; see also Thesaurus:inactive
    The traffic was quiet for a Monday morning.
    Business was quiet for the season.
** 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 8, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face.
* Not talking much or not talking loudly; reserved.
    Synonyms: reticent; see also Thesaurus:taciturn
    Antonyms: garrulous, prolix; see also Thesaurus:talkative
    He's a very quiet man usually, but is very chatty after a few beers.
* Not showy; undemonstrative.
    Synonyms: modest, plain, simple; see also Thesaurus:aloof, Thesaurus:unadorned
    a quiet dress
    quiet colours
    a quiet movement
* (software) Requiring little or no interaction.
    Synonyms: silent, unattended
    a quiet install

#### Quotations

* For quotations using this term, see Citations:quiet.

#### Derived terms

* all quiet on the Western Front
* be quiet
* quiet as a church mouse
* quiet as a grave
* quiet as a snowflake
* quiet carriage
* quieten
* quiet hands
* quiet hiring
* quiet luxury
* quietly
* quiet move
* quietness
* quiet quit
* quiet quitting
* quiet revolution
* quiet room
* quiet storm
* quiet zone
* say the quiet part loud
* say the quiet part out loud
* so quiet one could hear a pin drop
* so quiet you can hear a pin drop

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

quiet (third-person singular simple present quiets, present participle quieting, simple past and past participle quieted)
* (transitive) To cause (someone or something) to become quiet.
    Synonyms: quiet down, quieten
    Can you quiet your child? He’s making lots of noise.
    The umpire quieted the crowd so the game could continue in peace.
** 1631, Saint Augustine, “He Admires Gods Majesty, and is Inflamed with a Deepe Desire of Praising Him”, in William Watts, transl., Saint Augustines Confessions Translated: […], London: […] Iohn Norton, for Iohn Partridge […], →OCLC, book 1, paragraph 1, page 2:For thou haſt created us for thy ſelfe, and our heart cannot be quieted till it may fine repoſe in thee.
* (intransitive) To become quiet or calm.
    Synonyms: quiet down, quieten
    When you quiet, we can start talking.

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

quiet (plural quiets)
* The absence of sound; quietness.
    There was a strange quiet in the normally very lively plaza.
    We need a bit of quiet before we can start the show.
* The absence of movement; stillness, tranquility.
* The absence of disturbance or trouble; peace, security.
** 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act III:The King & his Nobles thinke they may ſleepe in quiet, Now they haue giuen vs a little holy water at the Court, But thers no ſuch matter, we be no ſuch fooles, To be bobd out with words and after come to hanging: […]

#### Translations

Adyghe: шъэфы (ŝɛfə)
Armenian: լռություն (hy) (lṙutʻyun)
Azerbaijani: səssizlik, sakitlik, sükut (az)
Bulgarian: тишина (bg) f (tišina)
Czech: ticho (cs) n
Danish: stilhed (da) c, ro (da) c
Egyptian: (sgr)
Esperanto: kvieto
Finnish: hiljaisuus (fi)
French: silence (fr)
Georgian: სიჩუმე (sičume), სიწყნარე (sic̣q̇nare)
Greek: ησυχία (el) f (isychía)
Ancient: σιγή f (sigḗ), σιωπή f (siōpḗ)
Hindi: ख़ामोशी f (xāmośī)
Hungarian: csend (hu), nyugalom (hu)
Irish: ciúnas (ga) m
Italian: silenzio (it) m
Japanese: 沈黙 (ja) (chinmoku), 静寂 (ja) (seijaku)
Kabardian: щэху (kbd) (śɛxʷu)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ھێمن (ckb) (hêmin), وسکت (wiskit)
Latin: silentium n
Latvian: klusums m
Northern Sami: jaskatvuohta
Portuguese: calada (pt) f, silêncio (pt) m
Punjabi: ਚੁੱਪੀ f (cuppī)
Russian: тишина́ (ru) f (tišiná)
Scottish Gaelic: sàmhchair f, tosd m
Spanish: silencio (es) m
Swedish: tystnad (sv) c
Telugu: నిశ్శబ్దం (te) (niśśabdaṁ)
Urdu: خاموشی (xāmośī) :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Interjection

quiet
* Be quiet.
    Quiet! The children are sleeping.

### Related terms

* acquiesce
* acquiet
* disquiet
* have a quiet word
* inquietude
* keep quiet
* on the quiet
* peace and quiet
* quiesce
* quiescence
* quiescent
* quietage
* quiet as a mouse
* quiet coach
* quiet down
* quieten
* quiet enjoyment
* quietism
* quietist
* quiet lung
* quietly
* quietness
* quiet period
* quietsom
* quietude
* requiem
* so quiet one can hear a pin drop
* ultraquiet
* unquiet

### Further reading

* “quiet”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “quiet”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
* “quiet”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “quiet”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* quite

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quiētus. Compare Old Catalan quet, which was inherited. First attested in 1490.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [kiˈet]

### Adjective

quiet (feminine quieta, masculine plural quiets, feminine plural quietes)
* calm, stopped
* quiet

#### Synonyms

* aturat
* detingut

#### Related terms

* quedar

## Copallén
### Noun

quiet
* water

### References

* Willem F. H. Adelaar, The Languages of the Andes

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French quiete (13th c.), borrowed from Latin quiētus. The masculine quiet is a Middle French backformation. Doublet of inherited coi and the earlier borrowing quitte.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kjɛ/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

quiet (feminine quiète, masculine plural quiets, feminine plural quiètes)
* (rare, literary) tranquil, peaceful, placid
    Synonyms: see calme
** 1921, Marcel Proust, Le Côté de Guermantes, section II:Alors en regardant, en écoutant Mme de Guermantes, je voyais, prisonnier dans la perpétuelle et quiète après-midi de ses yeux, un ciel d’Ile-de-France ou de Champagne se tendre […] .So when I watched and listened to Mme de Guermantes, I saw, a prisoner in the perpetual and placid afternoon of her eyes, an Ile-de-France or Champagne sky stretching out…

#### Usage notes

* Its antonym inquiet is much more common.

#### Related terms

* quiétude

### Further reading

* “quiet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Occitan
### Etymology

From Latin quiētus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈkjet]

### Adjective

quiet m (feminine singular quieta, masculine plural quiets, feminine plural quietas)
* calm, stopped
* quiet

#### Synonyms

* suau
* tranquil