English

Silent Sam

Silent Sam comes from English silent ‘speechless, mute’.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 1919, Victor Appleton: “I've named my new noiseless aeroplane—Army Air Scout—I've named…”

A compound of silent ‘speechless, mute’ + Sam ‘a diminutive of male given name Samuel’

Proto-Indo-European *seyl- ‘still’

Latin sileō ‘be silent’

Latin silēns

Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one; together’

…

Proto-Germanic *samnōną ‘to gather’

Proto-West Germanic *samnōn ‘to gather’

Old English samnian ‘to collect, gather’

Middle English sammen

English Sam

Every English word from English silent

noun A person who seldom or never speaks; a taciturn or unresponsive individual.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.