mumchancenessn.
/ˈmʌmtʃɑːnsnəs/, /ˈmʌmtʃansnəs/, U.S. /ˈməmˌtʃænsnəs/ rare.
Silence; reticence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [noun]
stillnessc1050
silencea1225
seld-speech?c1225
taciturnityc1450
retreata1533
mum1555
silentness1573
reticence1603
reticencya1617
reservation1619
parciloquy1656
reserve1659
costiveness1792
incommunicativeness1815
mutism1824
incommunicableness1835
ineloquence1843
incommunicability1855
unspeaking1860
mumchanceness1910
mumchanciness1920
1910 ‘A. Hope’ Second String xxi. 435 Perhaps his very mum-chanceness was his saving. Glib protestations would have smacked too strongly of the principal to commend the agent.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1910