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dumb

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:DUMBandD.U.M.B.

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

FromMiddle Englishdumb(“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), fromOld Englishdumb(“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), fromProto-West Germanic*dumb, fromProto-Germanic*dumbaz(“dull, dumb”), fromProto-Indo-European*dʰewbʰ-(“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”).

The senses ofstupid,unintellectual, andpointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence ofGermandumm andDutchdom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on.

Cognates

Cognate withScotsdumb(“dumb, silent”),North Frisiandom,domme(“dumb, stupid”),West Frisiandom(“dumb, stupid”),Dutchdom(“dumb, stupid”),Germandumm(“dumb, stupid”),Danishdum(“stupid”),Swedishdum(“stupid”),Icelandicdumbur(“dumb, mute”). See alsodeaf.

Adjective

dumb (comparativedumber,superlativedumbest)

  1. (dated) Unable tospeak; lacking power ofspeech.
    Synonyms:mute,speechless,wordless
    deaf,dumb, and blind(set phrase)
    His younger brother was borndumb, and communicated with sign language.
    • [1594],Richard Hooker, edited byJ[ohn] S[penser],Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […],→OCLC,(please specify the page):
      to unloose the very tongues even ofdumb creatures
    • 1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, chapter 2, inOriginal Stories from Real Life (Children's literature), London: J. Johnson, published1796, pages10–11:
      The country people frequently ſay,—How can you treat a poordumb beaſt ill; and a ſtreſs is very properly laid on the worddumb; fordumb they appear to thoſe who do not obſerve their looks and geſtures; but God, who takes care of every thing, underſtands their language...
    • 1884 January 5, “Mighty maiden with a mission”, inW. S. Gilbert (lyrics),Arthur Sullivan (music),Princess Ida‎[1], performed byD'Oyly Carte Opera Company, London,page48:
      We aredumb and we would talk
    • a.1905, anonymous translator,The Adventures of a Special Correspondent Among the Various Races and Countries of Central Asia‎[2], translation ofClaudius Bombarnac byJules Verne:
      It is true, there is Turkish of which I had picked up a few phrases, and there is Chinese of which I did not understand a single word. But I had no fear of remainingdumb in Turkestan and the Celestial Empire.
    • 1992, “Opiate”, performed byTool:
      Deaf and blind anddumb and born to follow / What you need is someone strong to guide you
  2. (archaic) Nottalkative;taciturn orunwilling to speak.
  3. (dated) Having noinput orvoice inrunning things.
    • 1843 April,Thomas Carlyle, “Democracy”, inPast and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.:Charles C[offin] Little andJames Brown, published1843,→OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker),page210:
      Life was never a May-game for men; in all times the lot of thedumb-millions born to toil was defaced with manifold sufferings, injustices, heavy burdens, avoidable and unavoidable; not play at all, but hard work that made the sinews sore, and the heart sore.
  4. (dated, of things, actions, etc.)Unaccompanied by words or speech,silent,wordless.
    dumb show
  5. (dated) Notproducing anysound,silent.
  6. (informal, derogatory, especially of a person)Stupid.
    Synonyms:feeble-minded,idiotic,moronic,stupid;see alsoThesaurus:stupid
    Antonyms:intelligent,smart
    You are sodumb! You don't even know how to make toast!
  7. (figuratively)Pointless,foolish, lackingintellectual content or value.
    Synonyms:banal,brainless,dopey,silly,stupid,ridiculous,vulgar
    This isdumb! We're driving in circles! We should have asked for directions an hour ago!
    Brendan had thedumb job of moving boxes from one conveyor belt to another.
  8. Lacking somefunctionality orproperty ordinarilycharacteristic of its kind.
  10. (of technology) Notequipped withintelligentbehavior orprocessingcapabilities of its own.
    Antonym:smart
  11. (obsolete, rare) Lackingbrightness orclearness as acolour;dim,dull.
Derived terms
Suffixed forms
Comparisons
Others
Translations
unable to speak—seemute
stupid
pointless or unintellectual
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

FromMiddle Englishdumben, fromOld English*dumbian (found in the compoundādumbian(“to become mute or dumb; keep silence; hold one’s peace”)), fromProto-Germanic*dumbijaną,*dumbōną(“to be silent, become dumb”), fromProto-Indo-European*dʰewbʰ-(“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate withGermanverdummen(“to become dumb”).

Verb

dumb (third-person singular simple presentdumbs,present participledumbing,simple past and past participledumbed)

  1. (transitive, dated) Tosilence.
  2. (transitive) To makestupid.
    • 2003, Angela Calabrese Barton,Teaching Science for Social Justice, page124:
      I think she'sdumbing us down, so we won't be smarter than her.
  3. (transitive) Torepresent as stupid.
    • 2004, Stephen Oppenheimer,The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa, page107:
      Bad-mouthing Neanderthals[…] is symptomatic of a need to exclude and even demonize.[…] I suggest that the unprovendumbing of the Neanderthals is an example of the same cultural preconception.
  4. (transitive) Toreduce theintellectual demands of.
    • 2002, Deborah Meier,In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing, page126:
      The ensuing storm caused the department to lower the bar—amid protests that this wasdumbing the test down—so that only 80 percent of urban kids would fail.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective or verb "dumb"

Etymology 3

Aminced oath ofdamn.[1][2]

Adverb

dumb (notcomparable)

  2. (African-American Vernacular)Very,extremely.
    Synonyms:type,mad,hella,wicked,(NYC)odee,(MLE, MTE)bare
    • 2017,Don Winslow,The Force, London:HarperCollins Publishers,→ISBN,page134:
      "What, you don't like your food?" Russo asks. ¶ "Are you kidding? It'sdumb good."
    • 2019, Natisha Raynor,She Made a Savage Change His Ways 2, Atlanta, G.A.: Royalty Publishing House,→ISBN,page 4:
      Yo this shit is crazy how these females are making these doctors rich. My baby moms Miracle is getting surgery in a week or so. She's flying out to Colombia. That shit really baffles me as far as she's concerned, because Miracle is alreadydumb thick. I'm like damn ma, how big do you want your ass to be?
Derived terms

Adjective

dumb (comparativemoredumb,superlativemostdumb)

  1. (African-American Vernacular, dated)Anintensifier expressingcontempt;damn,damned.
    • 2002, Glenna Whiteaker Wilding,Tales of a Ridgerunner: The Adventures of a Young Family Growing Up in the East Tennessee Mountains, 1890s - 1920s, Prospect, K.Y.: Harmony House Publishers,→ISBN,page95:
      Pap came to stand beside her and watched the two play. "That pup has just plum' fell in love with our Sammy, an' Sam's real took by him," Pap said. "It's adumb shame, too. I talked to Jim, but he's not of a mind to sell."

References

  1. ^“dum adv.”, inGreen’s Dictionary of Slang,Jonathon Green, 2016–present
  2. ^“dum adj.”, inGreen’s Dictionary of Slang,Jonathon Green, 2016–present

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

FromOld Englishdumb.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdum(b)/,/ˈduːm(b)/

Adjective

dumb (plural and weak singulardumbe)

  1. Lacking orfailing to display the faculty ofvoice:
    1. Unspeaking; unable to speak or havingmuteness.
    2. (substantive) Amute; one who can't speak.
    3. Temporarily unable to speak due to strong emotions.
    4. Unwilling or reluctant to speak; notspeaking.
  2. Powerless,ineffectual(either inherently or due to events)
  3. Unknowledgeable; having no understanding orsense.
  4. (of animals) Unwilling or unable to make a noise;quiet orsilent.
  5. (rare)Unrevealing,useless; having no important messages or lessons.
  6. (rare) Having nothing to keep one busy orengaged.
  7. (rare, figurative) Refusing topreach orevangelise.
  8. (rare, figurative) Refusing to beconceited orvainglorious.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Old English

Etymology

FromProto-West Germanic*dumb.

Pronunciation

Adjective

dumb

  1. mute,dumb (unable to speak)
    • late 10th century,Ælfric,Lives of Saints
      Fif and twentiġ manna myslīċe ġeuntrume cōmon tō þām hālgan heora hǣle biddende; sum wǣron blinde, sume wǣron healte, sume ēac dēafe, anddumbe ēac sum and hī ealle wurdon ānes dæġes ġehǣlede þurh þæs hālgan þingunge and him hām ġewendon.
      Twenty-five men, sickened in various ways, came to the saint begging for the health; some were blind, some were lame, some were also deaf, and some weredumb, and they were all healed in one day through the intercession of the saint and went home.
    • late 10th century,Ælfric,Grammar and Glossary
      Đonne beoð gyt of þam samod swegendum sumesemivocales, þæt synd healfclypjende, sume syndonmutę, þæt synddumbe.
      And still, there are from the consonants somesemivocales (those are semi-vowels), and somemutę (those aremutes).
  2. (substantive) amute
    • c. 990,Wessex Gospels,Luke 11:14
      Þā hē ūt ādrāf þā dēofolsēocnesse, þā spræc sedumba.
      When he drove out the demon, themute person spoke.

Declension

Declension ofdumb — Strong
SingularMasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominativedumbdumbdumb
Accusativedumbnedumbedumb
Genitivedumbesdumbredumbes
Dativedumbumdumbredumbum
Instrumentaldumbedumbredumbe
PluralMasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominativedumbedumba,dumbedumb
Accusativedumbedumba,dumbedumb
Genitivedumbradumbradumbra
Dativedumbumdumbumdumbum
Instrumentaldumbumdumbumdumbum
Declension ofdumb — Weak
SingularMasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominativedumbadumbedumbe
Accusativedumbandumbandumbe
Genitivedumbandumbandumban
Dativedumbandumbandumban
Instrumentaldumbandumbandumban
PluralMasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominativedumbandumbandumban
Accusativedumbandumbandumban
Genitivedumbra,dumbenadumbra,dumbenadumbra,dumbena
Dativedumbumdumbumdumbum
Instrumentaldumbumdumbumdumbum

Related terms

Descendants

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