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Today it means

tacit

understood without being stated

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Where does the word "tacit" come from? It comes from Latin tacitus, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).

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Where does the word "tacit" come from? It comes from Latin tacitus, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).

Tacit’s story begins in Latin: tacitus meant “silent.” From 'tacere', to be silent, the root of 'taciturn'. It reached English by 1600s as tacit. 'tacit approval' dates from the 1600s. Today, tacit means understood without being stated.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient tacitus "silent", from 'tacere', to be silent, the root of 'taciturn'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1600s tacit "silent", 'tacit approval' dates from the 1600s.

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