silent

the word 'silent' entered english in the late 15th century from the latin adjective 'silent-', the stem of 'silens', which is the present participle of the verb 'silere', meaning 'to be quiet or still'. the latin 'silere' is of uncertain origin, though it may be connected to the proto-indo-european root seh₁i-, meaning 'to rest, be quiet'. the semantic journey is direct, moving from the literal state of being quiet or still in latin to its modern english meanings describing the absence of sound, speech, or, in a specialized sense, the absence of synchronized sound in early cinema.

the word 'silent' is a simplex word derived as a whole from latin. it does not contain separable, productive morphemes in modern english spelling.