dumb

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʌm/
• Rhymes: -ʌm

Etymology 1

From Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”).

The senses of stupid, unintellectual, and pointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence of German dumm and Dutch dom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on.

Adjective

dumb (comparative dumber, superlative dumbest)

1. (dated) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech (kept in "deaf, dumb, and blind").

   Synonyms: mute, speechless, wordless
2. (archaic) Not talkative; taciturn or unwilling to speak.
3. (dated) Having no input or voice in running things.
4. (dated, of things, actions, etc.) Unaccompanied by words or speech, silent, wordless.
5. (dated) Not producing any sound, silent.
6. (informal, derogatory, especially of a person) Stupid.

   Synonyms: feeble-minded, idiotic, moronic, stupid; see also Thesaurus:stupid

   Antonyms: intelligent, smart

7. (figuratively) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.

   Synonyms: banal, brainless, dopey, silly, stupid, ridiculous, vulgar

8. Lacking some functionality or property ordinarily characteristic of its kind.
10. (of technology) Not equipped with intelligent behavior or processing capabilities of its own.

    Antonym: smart

11. (obsolete, rare) Lacking brightness or clearness as a colour; dim, dull.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English dumben, from Old English dumbian (more commonly in compound ādumbian (“to become mute or dumb; keep silence; hold one’s peace”)), from Proto-Germanic *dumbijaną, *dumbōną (“to be silent, become dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with German verdummen (“to become dumb”).

Verb

dumb (third-person singular simple present dumbs, present participle dumbing, simple past and past participle dumbed)

1. (transitive, dated) To silence.
2. (transitive) To make stupid.
3. (transitive) To represent as stupid.
4. (transitive) To reduce the intellectual demands of.

Derived terms

Etymology 3

A minced oath of damn.

Adverb

dumb (not comparable)

2. (African-American Vernacular) Very, extremely.

   Synonyms: type, mad, hella, wicked, (NYC) odee, (MLE, MTE) bare

Derived terms

Adjective

dumb (comparative more dumb, superlative most dumb)

1. (African-American Vernacular, dated) An intensifier expressing contempt; damn, damned.

References

Middle English

Alternative forms

• domb, doumb, dowmb, dom, domm, dum, doum, dowm, domp, doump

Etymology

From Old English dumb.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdum(b)/, /ˈduːm(b)/

Adjective

dumb (plural and weak singular dumbe)

1. Lacking or failing to display the faculty of voice:
   1. Unspeaking; unable to speak or having muteness.
   2. (substantive) A mute; one who can't speak.
   3. Temporarily unable to speak due to strong emotions.
   4. Unwilling or reluctant to speak; not speaking.
2. Powerless, ineffectual (either inherently or due to events)
3. Unknowledgeable; having no understanding or sense.
4. (of animals) Unwilling or unable to make a noise; quiet or silent.
5. (rare) Unrevealing, useless; having no important messages or lessons.
6. (rare) Having nothing to keep one busy or engaged.
7. (rare, figurative) Refusing to preach or evangelise.
8. (rare, figurative) Refusing to be conceited or vainglorious.

Derived terms

• dombenesse
• dumben

Descendants

• English: dumb
• Scots: dumb

References

• “dǒmb, dǒumb, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-04-27.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dumb.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dumb/

Adjective

dumb

1. mute, dumb (unable to speak)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, Lives of Saints

2. (substantive) a mute
   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 11:14

Declension

Related terms

• dumbnes

Descendants

• Middle English: dumb
  • Scots: dumb
  • English: dumb