A state or condition of silence, stillness, or quietness, often referring to the absence of sound or activity; sometimes signifying cessation or interruption, especially of life or speech. Can denote either a literal, physical silence or a figurative, existential pause (such as death, desolation, or divine inactivity).

Etymology From the root דמה (damah), which fundamentally means 'to be still, to be silent, to cease.' דְּמִי (dəmîy) is a noun form that expresses a state or quality of stillness or silence. Though it is derived from the same root as the word for 'to resemble' (by transference: 'to be as if dead/silent'), its lexical sense here is focused on stillness or cessation.

Reflexes  · not yet grouped by proto-form

LanguageWordMeaningSegmentationRoot
Bemba tuma to be quiet, to keep quiet, be silent tuma
Chichewa tuma to be quiet, to be silent -tuma