Meanings
nountower of silence (plural towers of silence)
plural towers of silence
- ZoroastrianismA low, cylindrical, open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate from exposure and consumption by carrion birds such as vultures, the remaining bones being kept in an ossuary.
Synonyms: dakhma, doongerwadi
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA low, cylindrical, open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate from exposure and consumption by carrion birds such as vultures, the remaining bones being kept in an ossuary.
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Frenchtour du silence
- Englishtower of silence
Calque of French tour du silence, from the fact that human voices are generally not heard at such places.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بُرْج الصَّمْت
- بُرْج الصَّمْت (burj aṣ-ṣamt)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Basque isiltasunaren dorreak
- isiltasunaren dorreaklow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Bulgarian кули на мълчанието, дакма
- кули на мълчанието (kuli na mălčanieto)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- дакма (dakma)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Catalan torre del silenci
- torre del silencilow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Czech věže mlčení
- věže mlčenílow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Esperanto silentoturo
- silentoturolow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Estonian vaikuse torn
- vaikuse tornlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Finnish hiljaisuuden torni
- hiljaisuuden tornilow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
French tour du silence
- tour du silencelow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
German Dachma
- Dachmalow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Greek πύργος της σιωπής
- πύργος της σιωπής (pýrgos tis siopís)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Hebrew מגדלי שתיקה
- מגדלי שתיקהlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Hindi दखमा
- दखमा (dakhmā)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Indonesian menara kesunyian
- menara kesunyianlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Italian torre del silenzio
- torre del silenziolow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Japanese 沈黙の塔, ダフマ
- 沈黙の塔 (chinmokunotō)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- ダフマlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Korean 침묵의 탑
- 침묵의 탑 (chimmugui tap)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Latin turris silentii
- turris silentiilow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Malay dakhma, menara bungkam
- dakhmalow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- menara bungkamlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Norwegian Bokmål dakhma
- dakhmalow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Persian دخمه
- دخمه (daxme)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Polish dakhma, wieża milczenia
- dakhmalow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- wieża milczenialow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Portuguese torre do silêncio
- torre do silênciolow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Russian башня молчания, да́хма
- башня молчания (bašnja molčanija)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- да́хма (dáxma)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Spanish torre del silencio
- torre del silenciolow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Swedish dakhma, tystnadens torn
- dakhmalow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- tystnadens tornlow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Tamil அமைதியின் கோபுரம்
- அமைதியின் கோபுரம் (amaitiyiṉ kōpuram)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Thai แดฆแมฮ์
- แดฆแมฮ์low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Turkish dahme
- dahmelow, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Ukrainian вежа мовчання, дахме
- вежа мовчання (veža movčannja)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
- дахме (daxme)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Urdu دخمہ
- دخمہ (daxma)low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tower of silence
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
tower of silence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tower%20of%20silence
MLA
“tower of silence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tower%20of%20silence. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tower of silence,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tower%20of%20silence.
Source: tower of silence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.