speechlessadj.

/ˈspiːtʃlɪs/

Forms: Also Old English spæcleas, Middle English specheles (Middle English specheless, 1500s spechelesse), 1500s–1600s speech(e)les(se.

Etymology: Old English spǽcléas ( < spǽc speech n.¹), = older Flemish spraeckeloos (Dutch sprakeloos), Middle Low German (and Low German) sprâkelôs, Old High German sprâhhalôs (Middle High German sprâche-, German sprachlos).

a. Destitute of, unendowed with, or lacking the faculty of speech; naturally or permanently mute or dumb.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vocal disorders > [adjective] > dumb

speechlessa1000

dumbc1000

deaf and dumb?c1225

mutec1400

tongueless1447

voiceless1535

wordless1648

tongue-tied1707

deaf-dumb1822

deaf-mute1837

utterless1854

unspeakable1888

a1000 Gloss. in Germania (1878) XI. 398/72 Spæclease vel dume, elinguia.

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 36 Þanne am I spirit specheles and spiritus þanne ich hatte.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 325/2 Spechelesse, that can nat speke, muet.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxv. 13 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 185 They mouthes, but speachlesse, haue: Eyes sightlesse.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (1623) iii. ii. 39 Speechlesse complaynet, I will learne thy thought: In thy dumb action, will I be as perfect As begging Hermits in their holy prayers.

1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 115 He that never hears a word spoken, nor can be told what it signifies, it is no wonder if such an one remain speechless.

1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. iii. 134 When the first Mortals crawling rose to Birth, Speechless and wretched, from their Mother-Earth.

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 9 He lingered,..through the long burning day Gazed on those speechless shapes.

1889 St. G. Mivart Origin Human Reason 287 Speaking of his hypothetical speechless-man.

b. Of a state or condition: Characterized by the lack of speech.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > characterized by lack of speech > of a state or condition

speechless1597

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 166 What is thy sentence but speechlesse death? Which robbes my tongue from breathing natiue breath.

1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. ii. 86 She is as pure as speechless infancy!

a. Unable to speak on account of illness, injury, or extreme exhaustion.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak

dumbc1000

speechlessc1290

mute?a1439

unlanguaged1654

lock-jawed1798

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 67 Wel longue he lai speche-les þene dethþ forto a-bide.

1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur i. iii. 39 Thenne he fyll passynge sore seke, so that thre dayes & thre nyghtes he was specheles.

1484 in H. E. Malden Cely Papers (1900) 155 Old Henley ys wyddowe hath beyn specheless thys daye & a hallfe.

1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn i. sig. B4 Some power strike me speechlesse for a time!

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 253 He fell downe in the Market-place, and foam'd at mouth, and was speechlesse .

1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses v. 66 Speechless and breathless was he like one dead.

1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives III. 24 He lay a long time speechless.

1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 393 The criminal himself..sank pale, and speechless, into the arms of those nearest.

1857 H. W. Longfellow Santa Filomena vii Slow..The speechless sufferer turns to kiss Her shadow.

figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. v. 52 His Fortunes all lye speechlesse, and his name Is at last gaspe.

b. Deprived for the time being of the power of speech through astonishment, fear, or other emotion; temporarily dumb; unable to answer. Also (dialect) as adv.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak > temporarily deprived of speech

speechlessc1374

mute1483

elingued?1623

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 370 And specheles thus ben thise ilke tweye, That neither myght a word for sorwe seye.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxii. f. xxxj Howe camyst thou in..and hast not on a weddyng garment? and he was even spechlesse.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 43 Heere with I was daunted, my hear stard, and speechles I stutted.

1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath sig. E1^v If speech-bereauing loue will let thee speake, Then speechles man, speake with the tongue of loue.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 894 Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length First to himself he inward silence broke.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 113. ⁋4 I at last came towards her with such Awe as made me Speechless.

1778 F. Burney Evelina III. xvii. 198 Speechless, motionless myself, I attempted not to stop him.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. viii. 141 An astonished Parlement sits convoked; listens speechless to the speech of d'Espréménil.

1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. xlvi. 128 Acte was almost speechless with surprise.

1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow i. 34 The woman's not speechless dumb. She's not clutterin' at the nipple. She's got the right to please herself.

c. Deprived of speech through excessive drinking. Hence colloquial, dead drunk.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > insensibly drunk

dead drunk1599

to drink (a person) dead drunk1609

paralytic1843

sodden1850

paralysed1870

speechless1881

drunk and incapable1883

dead-oh1889

rumdum1891

passed-out1927

out to it1941

trashed1966

wiped1966

1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. vii. 158 Those evenings of riot from which Sir Miles was so often carried home speechless.

3. Refraining from speech; keeping or observing silence; silent. Also, reticent, taciturn.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective]

unspeakinga1382

speechless1390

mutec1400

dumb1406

silenta1425

peaceablec1425

secretc1440

of few wordsa1500

tongue-tied1529

mum1532

closec1540

strait-laced1546

tongue-dumb1556

incommunicable1568

sparing1568

inconversable1577

retentive1599

wordless1604

mumbudget1622

uncommunicable1628

monastica1631

word-bound1644

on (also upon) the reserve1655

strait-mouthed1664

oyster-like1665

incommunicative1670

mumchance1681

speechless1726

taciturnous1727

tongue-tacked1727

monosyllabic1735

silentish1737

untalkative1739

silentious1749

buttoned-up1767

taciturn1771

close as wax1772

untittletattling1779

reticent1825

voiceless1827

say-nothing1838

unremonstrant1841

still1855

unvocal1858

inexpansive186.

short-tongued1864

non-communicating1865

tight-lipped1876

unworded1886

chup1896

tongue-bound1906

shut-mouthed1936

zip-lipped1943

shtum1958

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 85 Thanne is my cause fully schent, For specheles may noman spede.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 325/2 Spechelesse, of fewe wordes, musart.

1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. C4^v Bel. Why stands Horatio speecheles all this while? Hor. The lesse I speak, the more I meditate.

a1771 T. Gray tr. Dante in Wks. (1884) I. 159 On my Children's Eyes Speechless my Sight I fix'd.

1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxxvi. 364 A bony and speechless female with a fan.

in extended use.1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 488 A silence in the heauens,..The bold winds speechlesse . a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. i. 67 'Twas very faintly he said Rise: dismist me Thus with his speechlesse hand.

†4. Not uttered or expressed in speech. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > not expressed in speech

speechless1600

wordless1604

tacid1651

voiceless1816

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. i. 164 Sometimes from her eyes I did receaue faire speechlesse messages.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets viii. sig. B2^v [The strings] Whose speechlesse song..Sings this to thee.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 169 For in her youth There is a prone and speechlesse dialect, Such as moue men.

5. Of an emotion, etc.: Of such a nature as to deprive one temporarily of the power of speech; characterized by loss of speech.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak > characterized by loss of speech

speechless1594

unmouthpieced1837

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. M1 Which speechlesse woe of his poore she attendeth, And his vntimelie frenzie thus awaketh.

1737 R. Glover Leonidas i. 364 In speechless anguish on the hero's breast She sinks.

1768 T. Gray Descent of Odin in Poems 93 What virgins these, in speechless woe, That bend to earth their solemn brow.

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. viii. 272 She gave herself up to speechless joy.

1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lxii. 620 Mr. Dombey nods at the Captain, who shines more and more with speechless gratification.

1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. v. 101 He surveyed with speechless feeling the small remnant of his Lifeguard of Foot.

6. Marked or characterized by absence of speech; free from, unaccompanied or undisturbed by, speech.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective]

unspeakinga1382

speechless1390

mutec1400

dumb1406

silenta1425

peaceablec1425

secretc1440

of few wordsa1500

tongue-tied1529

mum1532

closec1540

strait-laced1546

tongue-dumb1556

incommunicable1568

sparing1568

inconversable1577

retentive1599

wordless1604

mumbudget1622

uncommunicable1628

monastica1631

word-bound1644

on (also upon) the reserve1655

strait-mouthed1664

oyster-like1665

incommunicative1670

mumchance1681

speechless1726

taciturnous1727

tongue-tacked1727

monosyllabic1735

silentish1737

untalkative1739

silentious1749

buttoned-up1767

taciturn1771

close as wax1772

untittletattling1779

reticent1825

voiceless1827

say-nothing1838

unremonstrant1841

still1855

unvocal1858

inexpansive186.

short-tongued1864

non-communicating1865

tight-lipped1876

unworded1886

chup1896

tongue-bound1906

shut-mouthed1936

zip-lipped1943

shtum1958

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > characterized by lack of speech

dumba1538

silent1549

secret1556

wordless1594

mump1599

speechless1726

elinguid1775

1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 251 A speechless interval of grief ensues.

1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxxxvii. i Her we bewail'd in speechless Groans.

1765 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto iv [Her mother] seeing Matilda fall at her feet with a flood of speechless tears.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. liii. 124 As o'er that speechless calm delight and wonder grew.

1855 H. W. Longfellow Hiawatha xiv. 189 In the great, mysterious darkness Of the speechless days that shall be!

1874 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David IV. Ps. xciv. 17 He..would have been wrapped in speechless silence.

7. poetic. Incapable of expression in or by speech.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unmentionable

unspeakable1568

unutterable1656

unmentionable1657

speechless1813

indiscussible1893

indiscutable1933

1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab v. 65 Stifling the speechless longings of his heart, In unremitting drudgery and care.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. xlii. 22 At night, methought in dream A shape of speechless beauty did appear.

1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows i. iii. 7 As the veil withdrawn 'Twixt the artist's soul and works had left them heirs Of the deep thoughts.

Derivatives

ˈspeechlessly adv. without speech or speaking; silently.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adverb]

in silencea1382

without language?c1450

sub silentio1563

monkishly1595

wordlessly1840

pauciloquently1844

speechlessly1847

taciturnly1847

reticently1859

incommunicativelya1862

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 116 The placable and soft-hearted Briggs speechlessly pushed out her hand at this appeal.

1857 W. Collins Dead Secret II. v. v. 175 She stood..looking steadfastly, speechlessly, breathlessly, at her blind husband.

1895 W. C. Scully Kafir Stories 126 He glared speechlessly at Kondwana and Senzanga.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	speechless
释义	speechlessadj. /ˈspiːtʃlɪs/ Forms: Also Old English spæcleas, Middle English specheles (Middle English specheless, 1500s spechelesse), 1500s–1600s speech(e)les(se. Etymology: Old English spǽcléas ( < spǽc speech n.¹), = older Flemish spraeckeloos (Dutch sprakeloos), Middle Low German (and Low German) sprâkelôs, Old High German sprâhhalôs (Middle High German sprâche-, German sprachlos). 1. a. Destitute of, unendowed with, or lacking the faculty of speech; naturally or permanently mute or dumb. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vocal disorders > [adjective] > dumb speechlessa1000 dumbc1000 deaf and dumb?c1225 mutec1400 tongueless1447 voiceless1535 wordless1648 tongue-tied1707 deaf-dumb1822 deaf-mute1837 utterless1854 unspeakable1888 a1000 Gloss. in Germania (1878) XI. 398/72 Spæclease vel dume, elinguia. 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 36 Þanne am I spirit specheles and spiritus þanne ich hatte. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 325/2 Spechelesse, that can nat speke, muet. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxv. 13 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 185 They mouthes, but speachlesse, haue: Eyes sightlesse. a1616 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (1623) iii. ii. 39 Speechlesse complaynet, I will learne thy thought: In thy dumb action, will I be as perfect As begging Hermits in their holy prayers. 1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 115 He that never hears a word spoken, nor can be told what it signifies, it is no wonder if such an one remain speechless. 1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. iii. 134 When the first Mortals crawling rose to Birth, Speechless and wretched, from their Mother-Earth. 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 9 He lingered,..through the long burning day Gazed on those speechless shapes. 1889 St. G. Mivart Origin Human Reason 287 Speaking of his hypothetical speechless-man. b. Of a state or condition: Characterized by the lack of speech. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > characterized by lack of speech > of a state or condition speechless1597 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 166 What is thy sentence but speechlesse death? Which robbes my tongue from breathing natiue breath. View more context for this quotation 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. ii. 86 She is as pure as speechless infancy! 2. a. Unable to speak on account of illness, injury, or extreme exhaustion. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak dumbc1000 speechlessc1290 mute?a1439 unlanguaged1654 lock-jawed1798 c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 67 Wel longue he lai speche-les þene dethþ forto a-bide. 1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur i. iii. 39 Thenne he fyll passynge sore seke, so that thre dayes & thre nyghtes he was specheles. 1484 in H. E. Malden Cely Papers (1900) 155 Old Henley ys wyddowe hath beyn specheless thys daye & a hallfe. 1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn i. sig. B4 Some power strike me speechlesse for a time! a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 253 He fell downe in the Market-place, and foam'd at mouth, and was speechlesse . View more context for this quotation 1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses v. 66 Speechless and breathless was he like one dead. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives III. 24 He lay a long time speechless. 1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 393 The criminal himself..sank pale, and speechless, into the arms of those nearest. 1857 H. W. Longfellow Santa Filomena vii Slow..The speechless sufferer turns to kiss Her shadow. figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. v. 52 His Fortunes all lye speechlesse, and his name Is at last gaspe. View more context for this quotation b. Deprived for the time being of the power of speech through astonishment, fear, or other emotion; temporarily dumb; unable to answer. Also (dialect) as adv. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak > temporarily deprived of speech speechlessc1374 mute1483 elingued?1623 c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 370 And specheles thus ben thise ilke tweye, That neither myght a word for sorwe seye. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxii. f. xxxj Howe camyst thou in..and hast not on a weddyng garment? and he was even spechlesse. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 43 Heere with I was daunted, my hear stard, and speechles I stutted. 1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath sig. E1^v If speech-bereauing loue will let thee speake, Then speechles man, speake with the tongue of loue. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 894 Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length First to himself he inward silence broke. View more context for this quotation 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 113. ⁋4 I at last came towards her with such Awe as made me Speechless. 1778 F. Burney Evelina III. xvii. 198 Speechless, motionless myself, I attempted not to stop him. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. viii. 141 An astonished Parlement sits convoked; listens speechless to the speech of d'Espréménil. 1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. xlvi. 128 Acte was almost speechless with surprise. 1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow i. 34 The woman's not speechless dumb. She's not clutterin' at the nipple. She's got the right to please herself. c. Deprived of speech through excessive drinking. Hence colloquial, dead drunk. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > insensibly drunk dead drunk1599 to drink (a person) dead drunk1609 paralytic1843 sodden1850 paralysed1870 speechless1881 drunk and incapable1883 dead-oh1889 rumdum1891 passed-out1927 out to it1941 trashed1966 wiped1966 1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. vii. 158 Those evenings of riot from which Sir Miles was so often carried home speechless. 3. Refraining from speech; keeping or observing silence; silent. Also, reticent, taciturn. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] unspeakinga1382 speechless1390 mutec1400 dumb1406 silenta1425 peaceablec1425 secretc1440 of few wordsa1500 tongue-tied1529 mum1532 closec1540 strait-laced1546 tongue-dumb1556 incommunicable1568 sparing1568 inconversable1577 retentive1599 wordless1604 mumbudget1622 uncommunicable1628 monastica1631 word-bound1644 on (also upon) the reserve1655 strait-mouthed1664 oyster-like1665 incommunicative1670 mumchance1681 speechless1726 taciturnous1727 tongue-tacked1727 monosyllabic1735 silentish1737 untalkative1739 silentious1749 buttoned-up1767 taciturn1771 close as wax1772 untittletattling1779 reticent1825 voiceless1827 say-nothing1838 unremonstrant1841 still1855 unvocal1858 inexpansive186. short-tongued1864 non-communicating1865 tight-lipped1876 unworded1886 chup1896 tongue-bound1906 shut-mouthed1936 zip-lipped1943 shtum1958 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 85 Thanne is my cause fully schent, For specheles may noman spede. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 325/2 Spechelesse, of fewe wordes, musart. 1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. C4^v Bel. Why stands Horatio speecheles all this while? Hor. The lesse I speak, the more I meditate. a1771 T. Gray tr. Dante in Wks. (1884) I. 159 On my Children's Eyes Speechless my Sight I fix'd. 1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxxvi. 364 A bony and speechless female with a fan. in extended use.1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 488 A silence in the heauens,..The bold winds speechlesse . View more context for this quotationa1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. i. 67 'Twas very faintly he said Rise: dismist me Thus with his speechlesse hand. View more context for this quotation †4. Not uttered or expressed in speech. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > not expressed in speech speechless1600 wordless1604 tacid1651 voiceless1816 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. i. 164 Sometimes from her eyes I did receaue faire speechlesse messages. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets viii. sig. B2^v [The strings] Whose speechlesse song..Sings this to thee. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 169 For in her youth There is a prone and speechlesse dialect, Such as moue men. View more context for this quotation 5. Of an emotion, etc.: Of such a nature as to deprive one temporarily of the power of speech; characterized by loss of speech. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak > characterized by loss of speech speechless1594 unmouthpieced1837 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. M1 Which speechlesse woe of his poore she attendeth, And his vntimelie frenzie thus awaketh. View more context for this quotation 1737 R. Glover Leonidas i. 364 In speechless anguish on the hero's breast She sinks. 1768 T. Gray Descent of Odin in Poems 93 What virgins these, in speechless woe, That bend to earth their solemn brow. 1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. viii. 272 She gave herself up to speechless joy. 1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lxii. 620 Mr. Dombey nods at the Captain, who shines more and more with speechless gratification. 1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. v. 101 He surveyed with speechless feeling the small remnant of his Lifeguard of Foot. 6. Marked or characterized by absence of speech; free from, unaccompanied or undisturbed by, speech. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] unspeakinga1382 speechless1390 mutec1400 dumb1406 silenta1425 peaceablec1425 secretc1440 of few wordsa1500 tongue-tied1529 mum1532 closec1540 strait-laced1546 tongue-dumb1556 incommunicable1568 sparing1568 inconversable1577 retentive1599 wordless1604 mumbudget1622 uncommunicable1628 monastica1631 word-bound1644 on (also upon) the reserve1655 strait-mouthed1664 oyster-like1665 incommunicative1670 mumchance1681 speechless1726 taciturnous1727 tongue-tacked1727 monosyllabic1735 silentish1737 untalkative1739 silentious1749 buttoned-up1767 taciturn1771 close as wax1772 untittletattling1779 reticent1825 voiceless1827 say-nothing1838 unremonstrant1841 still1855 unvocal1858 inexpansive186. short-tongued1864 non-communicating1865 tight-lipped1876 unworded1886 chup1896 tongue-bound1906 shut-mouthed1936 zip-lipped1943 shtum1958 the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > characterized by lack of speech dumba1538 silent1549 secret1556 wordless1594 mump1599 speechless1726 elinguid1775 1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 251 A speechless interval of grief ensues. 1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxxxvii. i Her we bewail'd in speechless Groans. 1765 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto iv [Her mother] seeing Matilda fall at her feet with a flood of speechless tears. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. liii. 124 As o'er that speechless calm delight and wonder grew. 1855 H. W. Longfellow Hiawatha xiv. 189 In the great, mysterious darkness Of the speechless days that shall be! 1874 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David IV. Ps. xciv. 17 He..would have been wrapped in speechless silence. 7. poetic. Incapable of expression in or by speech. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unmentionable unspeakable1568 unutterable1656 unmentionable1657 speechless1813 indiscussible1893 indiscutable1933 1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab v. 65 Stifling the speechless longings of his heart, In unremitting drudgery and care. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. xlii. 22 At night, methought in dream A shape of speechless beauty did appear. 1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows i. iii. 7 As the veil withdrawn 'Twixt the artist's soul and works had left them heirs Of the deep thoughts. Derivatives ˈspeechlessly adv. without speech or speaking; silently. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adverb] in silencea1382 without language?c1450 sub silentio1563 monkishly1595 wordlessly1840 pauciloquently1844 speechlessly1847 taciturnly1847 reticently1859 incommunicativelya1862 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 116 The placable and soft-hearted Briggs speechlessly pushed out her hand at this appeal. 1857 W. Collins Dead Secret II. v. v. 175 She stood..looking steadfastly, speechlessly, breathlessly, at her blind husband. 1895 W. C. Scully Kafir Stories 126 He glared speechlessly at Kondwana and Senzanga. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.a1000
随便看	to lay the saddle upon the right horse to lay the saddle upon the wrong horse to lay the scene to lay the sponge to lay the venue to lay the wite on to lay their heads together to lay them in the aisles to lay through posts to lay to to lay to a hazard to lay to a person's charge to lay to a person's nose to lay to borrow to lay to charge to lay to gage to lay to grass to lay to ground, to earth to lay to ground, to earth sc at eird to lay to heart to lay to mortgage to lay to one's charge to lay to one's credit, reproach to lay to one's ear to lay to one's hand(s