deaf English · revision 13421

− It is [[inh|ang|dēaf]] (about 750, in Cynewulf's Juliana),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|gem-pro|*daubaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Dutch doof, German taub, Old Norse daufr and Gothic daufs, unperceptive.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It goes back to an Indo-European base meaning dark or dulled, also seen in Greek tuphlós, blind, and Old Irish dub, black;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) the ancestor probably referred to a general dullness of perception rather than any one sense.^(Cresswell 2021)