deaf

English Online Dictionary. What means deaf‎? What does deaf mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English deef, from Old English dēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub, from Proto-Germanic *daubaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τυφλός (tuphlós, “blind”). See also dumb. Doublet of daff, dof, and dowf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛf/
• (dated, regional US and England) IPA^(key): /diːf/
• Rhymes: -ɛf
• Homophones: Deaf, def; death (th-fronting)

Adjective

deaf (comparative deafer, superlative deafest)

1. Unable to hear, or only partially able to hear.
2. Unwilling to listen or be persuaded; determinedly inattentive; regardless.
3. Of or relating to the community of deaf people.
4. (obsolete) Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened.
5. (obsolete, UK, dialect) Decayed; tasteless; dead.

Synonyms

• hard of hearing
• hearing-impaired

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• inaudible (unable to be heard)
• anosmic
• blind

Noun

deaf (plural deafs)

1. (nonstandard, rare) A deaf person.

Usage notes

Used primarily within the deaf community.

Translations

Verb

deaf (third-person singular simple present deafs, present participle deafing, simple past and past participle deafed)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To deafen.

See also

• Deafness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Deaf culture on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

Anagrams

• EDFA, FDEA, fade

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *daub.

Germanic cognates include Old Frisian dāf, Old Saxon dōf (Low German dow), Old High German toub (German taub), Old Norse daufr (Swedish döv). The Indo-European root is also the source of Greek τυφλός (tyflós, “blind”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dæ͜ɑːf/

Adjective

dēaf

1. deaf
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, Lives of Saints

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: deef, def
  • English: deaf
  • Scots: deef, deif, deaf