noun, Psychiatry. 1. an inability to speak, due to a physical defect, conscious refusal, or psychogenic inhibition. Origin of mutism.
1 A new study finds girls are developing breasts earlier than ever before; American boys and girls are entering puberty about five years younger than they did in 1920.
U.S. girls are entering puberty at a younger age than in the past. More than 10 percent of white 7-year-old girls have breast changes that signal the start of puberty, according to a study conducted in the mid-2000s. This is up from just 5 percent in the early 1990s.