Author Topic: Unmute (vb.)  (Read 850 times)

jancsika

  • Paronomaniac
  • ******
  • Posts: 312
    • View Profile
Unmute (vb.)
« on: December 21, 2019, 12:49:03 AM »
A term with which anyone who has ever struggled with teleconferencing systems will be all too familiar, but nevertheless rejected by the 7-by-many yesterday!.

Jacki

  • Cryptoverbalist
  • *
  • Posts: 963
    • View Profile
Re: Unmute (vb.)
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2019, 07:37:58 AM »
Yes - we have a daily conference call - I know it describes the situation perfectly - but is it a word. Mind you UNMEANT apparantly is a common word, and I'd be struggling to use that word in a sentence.
Late blooming azaleas tricked by the warmer weather into flowering

ensiform

  • Paronomaniac
  • ******
  • Posts: 459
    • View Profile
Re: Unmute (vb.)
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2019, 08:50:48 AM »
Ha!  I can!

Any offence caused by my yelling "Ha! I can!" was UNMEANT.

Jacki

  • Cryptoverbalist
  • *
  • Posts: 963
    • View Profile
Re: Unmute (vb.)
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2019, 01:55:56 PM »
See, I would say "Is unintended", not unmeant. Unmeant just sounds wrong to me.
Late blooming azaleas tricked by the warmer weather into flowering

Leedscot

  • Lexicomane
  • ***
  • Posts: 139
    • View Profile
Re: Unmute (vb.)
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2019, 09:06:43 PM »
If you’ve ever used YouTube, you’ll have frequently seen "Tap to unmute".

Alan W

  • Administrator
  • Eulexic
  • *****
  • Posts: 4961
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Unmute (vb.)
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2020, 10:34:38 PM »
Unmute is in the online Oxford and Wiktionary. As well as being used in connection with the controls of an audio device or app, it can be used for removing a mute from a musical instrument. It can also be used figuratively, as in this example quoted by the OED:

Quote
Women's expanded interests could...lead to efforts to decrease the distance between 'public' and 'private' worlds, or at least in 'unmuting' the values of the 'muted' half of society.

The earliest citation in the OED is from 1811.

I'll add unmute as a rare word, along with unmuted and unmuting.
Alan Walker
Creator of Lexigame websites