dumb English · revision 4582

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *dumbaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʌm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dumb]], [[inh|ang|dumb|t=mute, unable to speak]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*dumbaz|t=dumb, dull]],^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Saxon dumb, Old Norse dumbr and Gothic dumbs, all “mute”, Dutch dom “stupid” and Old High German tumb “mute, stupid, deaf”, now German dumm “stupid”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Its earlier origin is uncertain:^(Hoad 1986) Barnhart traces it to [[ine-pro|*dhumbho-|t=dark]],^(Barnhart 1988) and Etymonline suggests PIE *dheubh- “confusion, stupefaction”, from the root *dheu- “dust, mist, smoke”.^(Etymonline) The b has probably been silent since the 13th century.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[deaf]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Unable to speak, of people: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart, in Ælfric and the Old English Gospels;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) of animals, lacking speech, also in Old English.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Speechless animals came to be thought of as without intellect (about 1200),^(Etymonline) and the sense “stupid, foolish” is recorded probably before 1200, in Layamon.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline suggests the change went through the notion of not responding out of ignorance.^(Etymonline) The foolish sense was only occasional in Middle English, and its modern use, from 1823, seems to owe much to German dumm, especially through Pennsylvania German.^(Etymonline) In German that became the only sense, while “mute” is stumm.^(Etymonline) Meanwhile the old sense spread to things: silent contrivances, as in ''dumbwaiter'' (1749) and ''dumbbell'' (1711), named after a device like a church bell without the bell.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) ''Dummy'' (late 16th century) is from the same word.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb ''dumb down'' is by 1933.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – unable to speak.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1200 – stupid, foolish.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1300 – temporarily speechless.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1561 – ''dumb show''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1711 – ''dumbbell''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1749 – ''dumbwaiter''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1823 – the modern use for stupid.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1933 – ''dumb down''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(informal)'' [[stupid|alt=Stupid]] or showing a lack of intelligence.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(often offensive)'' Unable to speak; [[mute]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Temporarily unable to speak, as from shock or fear.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Unwilling to speak; silent.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''dumb down'': to make simpler or less intellectually demanding.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dumbly]]

+ * [[dumbness]]

+ * [[dumbo]]

+ * [[dummy]]

+ * [[dumbbell]]

+ * [[dumbfound]]

+ * [[dumbhead]]

+ * [[dumbstruck]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[deaf]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dumb is the general word for lacking the power of speech, while mute often implies silence that is chosen or imposed, and inarticulate a failure to speak clearly or effectively.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}