"silence is golden" meaning in English

See silence is golden in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Etymology: Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”). Etymology templates: {{cal|en|la|silentium est aureum||silence is golden}} Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”) Head templates: {{head|en|proverb}} silence is golden
  1. Peace and quiet have great value. Related terms: speech is silver, silence is golden Translations (proverb): اَلسُّكُوتُ مِن ذَهَبٍ (as-sukūtu min ḏahabin) (Arabic), мълча́нието е зла́то (mǎlčánieto e zláto) (Bulgarian), 沉默是金 (chénmò shì jīn) (Chinese Mandarin), mlčeti zlato (Czech), tale er sølv, tavshed er guld (Danish), vaikeneminen on kultaa (Finnish), le silence est d’or (French), Schweigen ist Gold (German), η σιωπή είναι χρυσός (i siopí eínai chrysós) (Greek), שְׁתִיקָה שָׁוָה זָהָב (shtiqà shavà zahàv) (Hebrew), hallgatni arany (Hungarian), þögn er gulls ígildi (Icelandic), enginn er allheimskur ef þegja má (Icelandic), diam itu emas (Indonesian), il silenzio è d'oro (Italian), 沈黙は金雄弁は銀 (chinmoku wa kin yūben wa gin) (Japanese), silentium est aurum (Latin), молчењето е злато (molčenjeto e zlato) (Macedonian), milczenie jest złotem (Polish), o silêncio é ouro (Portuguese), 's fhearr a bhith sàmhach na droch dhan a ghabhail (Scottish Gaelic), cha déid cuileag am beul dùinte (Scottish Gaelic), am fear a ghléidheas a theangaidh, ghléidhidh e a charaid (Scottish Gaelic), ћутање је злато [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), ćutanje je zlato [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), el silencio es oro (Spanish), por la boca muere el pez (Spanish), tiga är guld (Swedish), im lặng là vàng (Vietnamese)
    Sense id: en-silence_is_golden-en-proverb-oEuJMLOq Categories (other): English proverbs Disambiguation of English proverbs: 66 34 Disambiguation of 'proverb': 77 23
  2. Often the best choice is to say nothing.
    Sense id: en-silence_is_golden-en-proverb-tx0vwzw0

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for silence is golden meaning in English (5.6kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "silentium est aureum",
        "4": "",
        "5": "silence is golden"
      },
      "expansion": "Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”)",
      "name": "cal"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "silence is golden",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "66 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Peace and quiet have great value."
      ],
      "id": "en-silence_is_golden-en-proverb-oEuJMLOq",
      "links": [
        [
          "Peace",
          "peace"
        ],
        [
          "quiet",
          "quiet"
        ],
        [
          "value",
          "value"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "91 9",
          "word": "speech is silver, silence is golden"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "as-sukūtu min ḏahabin",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "اَلسُّكُوتُ مِن ذَهَبٍ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "mǎlčánieto e zláto",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "мълча́нието е зла́то"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "chénmò shì jīn",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "沉默是金"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "mlčeti zlato"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "tale er sølv, tavshed er guld"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "vaikeneminen on kultaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "le silence est d’or"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "Schweigen ist Gold"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "i siopí eínai chrysós",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "η σιωπή είναι χρυσός"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "shtiqà shavà zahàv",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "שְׁתִיקָה שָׁוָה זָהָב"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "hallgatni arany"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "þögn er gulls ígildi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "enginn er allheimskur ef þegja má"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "diam itu emas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "il silenzio è d'oro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "chinmoku wa kin yūben wa gin",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "沈黙は金雄弁は銀"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "note": "言わぬが花 (いわぬがはな, iwanu ga hana, literally “not saying is a flower”)",
          "sense": "proverb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "silentium est aurum"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "molčenjeto e zlato",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "молчењето е злато"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "milczenie jest złotem"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "o silêncio é ouro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "сло́во — серебро́, молча́ние — зо́лото (slóvo — serebró, molčánije — zóloto)",
          "sense": "proverb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "молча́ние — зо́лото (molčánije — zóloto)",
          "sense": "proverb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "'s fhearr a bhith sàmhach na droch dhan a ghabhail"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "cha déid cuileag am beul dùinte"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "am fear a ghléidheas a theangaidh, ghléidhidh e a charaid"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "ћутање је злато"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "ćutanje je zlato"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "el silencio es oro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "por la boca muere el pez"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "tiga är guld"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "proverb",
          "word": "im lặng là vàng"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1897, Horatio Alger, chapter 2, in Walter Sherwood's Probation",
          "text": "But I have spoken long enough. There are times when silence is golden, and one of those times is at hand.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1987 April 4, T.R. Witomski, “witomski responds to readers' response to witomski (letter)”, in Gay Community News, page 6",
          "text": "I shouldn't lower myself to respond to the personal attacks on me, but silence, as the current scandal plaguing the federal administration shows, isn't golden.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Often the best choice is to say nothing."
      ],
      "id": "en-silence_is_golden-en-proverb-tx0vwzw0",
      "links": [
        [
          "choice",
          "choice"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "silence is golden"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proverbs",
    "English terms calqued from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Latin"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "silentium est aureum",
        "4": "",
        "5": "silence is golden"
      },
      "expansion": "Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”)",
      "name": "cal"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Calque of Latin silentium est aureum (“silence is golden”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "silence is golden",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "speech is silver, silence is golden"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Peace and quiet have great value."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Peace",
          "peace"
        ],
        [
          "quiet",
          "quiet"
        ],
        [
          "value",
          "value"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1897, Horatio Alger, chapter 2, in Walter Sherwood's Probation",
          "text": "But I have spoken long enough. There are times when silence is golden, and one of those times is at hand.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1987 April 4, T.R. Witomski, “witomski responds to readers' response to witomski (letter)”, in Gay Community News, page 6",
          "text": "I shouldn't lower myself to respond to the personal attacks on me, but silence, as the current scandal plaguing the federal administration shows, isn't golden.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Often the best choice is to say nothing."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "choice",
          "choice"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "as-sukūtu min ḏahabin",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "اَلسُّكُوتُ مِن ذَهَبٍ"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "mǎlčánieto e zláto",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "мълча́нието е зла́то"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "chénmò shì jīn",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "沉默是金"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "mlčeti zlato"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "tale er sølv, tavshed er guld"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "vaikeneminen on kultaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "le silence est d’or"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "Schweigen ist Gold"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "i siopí eínai chrysós",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "η σιωπή είναι χρυσός"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "shtiqà shavà zahàv",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "שְׁתִיקָה שָׁוָה זָהָב"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "hallgatni arany"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "þögn er gulls ígildi"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "enginn er allheimskur ef þegja má"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "diam itu emas"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "il silenzio è d'oro"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "chinmoku wa kin yūben wa gin",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "沈黙は金雄弁は銀"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "note": "言わぬが花 (いわぬがはな, iwanu ga hana, literally “not saying is a flower”)",
      "sense": "proverb"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "silentium est aurum"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "molčenjeto e zlato",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "молчењето е злато"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "milczenie jest złotem"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "o silêncio é ouro"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "сло́во — серебро́, молча́ние — зо́лото (slóvo — serebró, molčánije — zóloto)",
      "sense": "proverb"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "молча́ние — зо́лото (molčánije — zóloto)",
      "sense": "proverb"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "'s fhearr a bhith sàmhach na droch dhan a ghabhail"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "cha déid cuileag am beul dùinte"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "am fear a ghléidheas a theangaidh, ghléidhidh e a charaid"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "ћутање је злато"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "ćutanje je zlato"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "el silencio es oro"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "por la boca muere el pez"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "tiga är guld"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "proverb",
      "word": "im lặng là vàng"
    }
  ],
  "word": "silence is golden"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (ee658f9 and be4df6b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.