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单词 dumb
释义

dumbadj.n.

Brit. /dʌm/, U.S. /dəm/
Forms: Old English– dumb; also Middle English doumb(e, Middle English–1500s domm(e, (Middle English doum, doump), Middle English–1600s domb(e, dumbe, Middle English doom, dowmb(e, dowm(e, dume, Middle English–1500s dome, Middle English–1600s dum, dumm(e.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: A Common Germanic adjective: Old English dumb = Old Saxon dumb (Middle Dutch domp, dom, Dutch dom, Low German dum), Old High German tumb, tump (Middle High German tump, tum, early modern German thumb, modern German dumm), Old Norse dumbr (Swedish dumb), Gothic dumbs. In Gothic, Old Norse, and Old English only in sense ‘mute, speechless’; in Old High German it shared this sense with those of ‘stupid’ and ‘deaf’; in the other languages and periods, generally in sense ‘stupid’, though early modern German had also that of ‘deaf’: see Grimm. These diverse applications suggest as the original sense some such notion as ‘stupid’, ‘not understanding’, which might pass naturally either into ‘deaf’ or ‘dumb’.
A. adj.
1.
a. Destitute of the faculty of speech. deaf and dumb: see deaf adj. 1e.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > unable to speak
dumbc1000
speechlessc1290
mute?a1439
unlanguaged1654
lock-jawed1798
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vocal disorders > [adjective] > dumb
speechlessa1000
dumbc1000
deaf and dumb?c1225
mutec1400
tongueless1447
voiceless1535
wordless1648
tongue-tied1707
deaf-dumb1822
deaf-mute1837
utterless1854
unspeakable1888
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 32 Hig brohton hym dumbne man [Rushw. G. monnu dumb and deaf].
c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 202 Beo ðu dumb oðþæt þæt cild beo acenned.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 125 Þus bicom þe holi man dumb.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 131 Þe maistres sete stille y now, ryȝt as heo doumbe were.
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 29 A deef man and a doumbe was helid of Crist.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xii. 172 Thei were alle stille and mewet as though thei hadde be dombe.
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 82 Better a dum mouthe than a brainles scull.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Hab. ii. C Therfore maketh he domme Idols.
1613 H. Finch Law (1636) 103 Diuers may haue vnderstanding by their sight onely, though dumb and deafe.
1678 Young Man's Calling 284 Worshippers of dum idols.
1785 F. Burney Diary 16 Dec. (1842) II. 382 It appears quite as strange to meet with people who have no ear for music..as to meet with people who are dumb.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind iv. 66 Every deaf and dumb child is educated, more or less, by living among those who speak.
absolute.c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 544 Hi forgeafon..dumbum spræce.c1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 75 Þe blinde, ðe dumbe, ðe deaue, ðe halte.a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xxxi. 8 Opene thi mouth to the dumbe.1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xxxv. 6 The tongue of the dumbe [shall] sing. View more context for this quotation1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic 14 The ideas of the deaf and dumb.
b. Applied to the lower animals (and, by extension, to inanimate nature) as naturally incapable of articulate speech. Esp. in phrases dumb chum, dumb friend, applied to domesticated animals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > domestic animal > [noun] > pet
pet1539
peat1566
companion1608
sock1840
dumb friend1870
OE Andreas (1932) 67 Nu ðurh geohða sceal dæde fremman swa þa dumban neat.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 108 Of dumbe bestes leorne wisdom & lare.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 49 Þe creatours þat er dom, And na witt ne skille has.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11222 He..did þe dumb asse to speke.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iii. 82 They slewe the one thother, as domm bestes.
1593 Queen Elizabeth I tr. Boethius De Consolatione Philosophiæ in Queen Elizabeth's Englishings (1899) 31 That the divine Creature..should no otherwise florish, but that it neede possession of dom [L. inanimatæ] ware?
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 68 Dumb Sheep and Oxen spoke. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 117 A Plague did on the dumb Creation rise. View more context for this quotation
1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons III. xviii. ii. 256 To waste on a dumb animal what..many a good Christian would be exceedingly glad of!
1870 Animal World July 163/1 My considerable experience..combined with the affection I still feel for the dumb friends of my childhood, induces me to note down a few reminiscences of favourites.
1927 P. G. Wodehouse Meet Mr. Mulliner iii. 80 The dog..stood there, barking... ‘Having a little trouble with the dumb friend, bish?’ he asked genially.
1934 P. G. Wodehouse Right ho, Jeeves i. 13 He retired to the depths of the country and gave his life up to these dumb chums.
1940 ‘N. Blake’ Malice in Wonderland i. vii. 84 Don't leave your dumb friends at home! Bring them to Wonderland and instal them in our superbly equipped Pets' Corner!
1957 R. Campbell Portugal 62 Cassius's dumb-chum, the moray, adored him.
c. Without the power of making their voice effectively heard; without any voice in the management of affairs.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > [adjective] > without say in management of affairs
dumb1856
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 215 The dumb masses have often been so lost in this shadow of egotism, that [etc.].
1878 J. Morley Carlyle 191 He talks of the dumb millions in terms of fine and sincere humanity.
d. In proverbial phrases.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. lvi. 10 Doumbe dogges not mowende berken, seende veyne thingus, slepende, and loouende sweuenus.
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame ii. 148 Dombe as any stoon Thou sittest at another booke.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 13739 Þai wex doumbe as stane.
a1400–50 Alexander 4747 Dom as a dore-nayle and defe was he bathe.
c1440 York Myst. xxxiii. 65 Domme as a dore gon he dwell.
a1607 J. Rainolds Prophesie Obadiah (1613) ii. 29 The ignorance of many, that are dumbe dogges, and cannot barke.
1770 S. Foote Lame Lover i. 15 A whole family, dumb as oysters.
c1793 Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1799) I. 13 When Pitt, as a fish, in the Commons was dumb.
2. Temporarily bereft of the power of speech, from astonishment, grief, or some mental shock.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [adjective]
forglopnedc1175
dumb1388
astoniedc1400
unprepared1563
thunderstrickena1586
stonished1595
startled?1611
thunderstruck1613
dump1616
admired1684
dumbfounded1815
capped1862
surprised1882
dumbfoundered1883
staggered1911
1388 J. Wyclif Psalms xxxviii. 10 [xxxix. 9] I was doumbe, and openyde not my mouth; for thou hast maad.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 24308 For murning al dumb war þai.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. i. 1 Enee half wod and doum stude.
1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 29 Strucken dumbe remain'd Feredo with this..dishonest proposition.
1714 Miss Vanhomrigh in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 287 There is something in your looks so awful, that it strikes me dumb.
1870 R. W. Emerson Society & Solitude 208 Men of a delicate sympathy, who are dumb in mixed company.
1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 31 I was struck dumb with astonishment for the minute.
3.
a. That does not or will not speak; that remains persistently silent; little addicted to speech; taciturn, reticent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective]
unspeakinga1382
speechless1390
mutec1400
dumb1406
silenta1425
peaceablec1425
secretc1440
of few wordsa1500
tongue-tied1529
mum1532
closec1540
strait-laced1546
tongue-dumb1556
incommunicable1568
sparing1568
inconversable1577
retentive1599
wordless1604
mumbudget1622
uncommunicable1628
monastica1631
word-bound1644
on (also upon) the reserve1655
strait-mouthed1664
oyster-like1665
incommunicative1670
mumchance1681
speechless1726
taciturnous1727
tongue-tacked1727
monosyllabic1735
silentish1737
untalkative1739
silentious1749
buttoned-up1767
taciturn1771
close as wax1772
untittletattling1779
reticent1825
voiceless1827
say-nothing1838
unremonstrant1841
still1855
unvocal1858
inexpansive186.
short-tongued1864
non-communicating1865
tight-lipped1876
unworded1886
chup1896
tongue-bound1906
shut-mouthed1936
zip-lipped1943
shtum1958
1406 T. Hoccleve La Male Regle 433 The prouerbe is ‘the doumb man no lond getith’.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 119 That they be neither to talkative, nor to dumbe.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 152 This Spirite dumbe to vs will speake to him.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xix, in Poems 9 The Oracles are dumm.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 313 He was dumb all the rest of the way.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fourth 41 Nature is dumb on this important Point.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present iii. v. 212 The English are a dumb people.
†b. Const. from, of. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 60 [Þei] ben doumb fro þe gospel, and tellen here owen lawis.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 420 His herdis..be doump of lore of lif and lore of word to helpe þer sheepe.
c. to sing dumb: to be silent, hold one's peace.
ΚΠ
1715 Auld Stuarts back again in Jacobite Songs (1871) 27 We'll either gar them a' sing dumb, Or ‘Auld Stuarts back again’.
1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd ii. iii I'll tell them tales will gar them a' sing dumb.
1773 Scotland's Glory & Shame (1782) 68 When this is answer'd, I'll sing dumb.
4. Of things or actions: Not characterized by or attended with speech or vocal utterance. dumb crambo: see crambo n. 1b. See also dumb show n. dumb cake, a cake made in silence on St. Mark's Eve, with numerous ceremonies, by maids, to discover their future husbands (Halliwell).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] > characterized by lack of speech
dumba1538
silent1549
secret1556
wordless1594
mump1599
speechless1726
elinguid1775
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > inaudibility > [adjective] > silent > accompanied by silence
dumba1538
silential1653
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 69 So long as the kyng ys lyvely reson..so long..he ys above hys lawys, wych be but as you wyl say rayson dome.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. iii. sig. C2v His countenance could not but with dumme Eloquence desire it.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Ciiijv All this dumbe play had his acts made plain. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 39 Expressing..a kinde Of excellent dumbe discourse. View more context for this quotation
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 190 Doing all by Signs and dumb Postures.
1814 J. West Alicia de Lacy I. 30 Her employ is making dumb cakes, and tying girdles round the bed-posts to dream of her sweet-heart.
1814 J. West Alicia de Lacy III. 214.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend I. ii. xii. 270 Pleasant answered with a short dumb nod.
5.
a. Not emitting sound, unaccompanied or unattended by sound of any kind; silent, mute; unheard, from the sound being drowned by a louder one.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > inaudibility > [adjective] > silent
coyc1330
stone-still1338
quietc1384
softa1393
peacec1400
swownc1400
tongueless1447
clumc1485
mutec1500
whist1513
silent1542
dead1548
husht1557
whisted1557
whust1558
whust1558
whisht1570
huisht1576
quiet (also mum, mute, still, etc.) as a mouse (in a cheese)1584
fordead1593
noiseless1608
whisha1612
dumba1616
soundlessa1616
st1655
silentish1737
defta1763
sleeping1785
untoned1807
mousy1812
soughless1851
deathlike1856
whisperless1863
deathly1865
c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) iii. 6 Þa oðre nigon consonantes synd gecwedene mutæ, þæt synd dumbe.]
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. v. 49 What I would haue spoke, Was beastly dumbe [mod. edd. dumbed] by him. View more context for this quotation
a1680 T. Brooks in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1886) VII. Ps. cxxvii. 2 Written with א, a quiet dumb letter.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) II. 149 This is the dumb and dreary hour When injur'd ghosts complain.
1805 W. Wordsworth Waggoner 39 All the while his whip is dumb.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III i, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 238/2 Its thunder made the cataracts dumb.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 433 The trachea is straight in the tame or dumb swan.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Galahad v, in Poems (new ed.) II. 176 The streets are dumb with snow.
1891 R. Kipling Eng. Flag xvii, in National Observer 4 Apr. 511/1 The dead dumb fog hath wrapped it.
b. dumb peal n. a muffled peal of bells.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > obsequies > [noun] > bell > knell, peal, or stroke
knellc961
soul-knell?a1300
soul-knoll?c1500
death knell1773
dumb peal1799
teller1868
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [noun] > mourning
soul-knell?a1300
soul-knoll?c1500
minning1524
dumb peal1799
1799 Naval Chron. 2 264 A dumb or mourning peal..was rung.
1837 Boston Advertiser 10 Jan. 2/1 [He] was greeted on his return home with a dumb-peal.
c. Giving no sound on percussion, as a tumour.
ΚΠ
1879 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women i. 4 The ear may find it dumb, or may find a souffle or a pulse.
1886 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women (ed. 3) xiii. 105 The tumour is rounded, dull on percussion, dumb, slightly displaceable.
6. Applied to mechanical contrivances which take the place of a human agent. See dumb-waiter n. dumb borsholder: see Hasted (as cited), L. J. Jennings Rambles among the Hills (1880) 299.
ΚΠ
1782 E. Hasted Hist. Kent II. 284/2 Electing a Deputy to the Dumb Borsholder of Chart, as it was called.
1793 B. Edwards Hist. W. Indies in Burrowes Cycl. X. 286/1 The canes are turned round the middle roller by a piece of frame work of a circular form, which is called in Jamaica, the dumb-returner.
1853 (title) Specif. S. Blackwell's Patent for..‘constructing a certain article of saddlery denominated a dumb jockey’.
7.
a. Saying nothing to the understanding; inexpressive, meaningless; stupid, senseless. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [adjective]
emptya1225
sleevelessc1450
dumb1531
insensible1538
senseless1579
weetless1579
unsignificant1603
surd1605
matterless1612
unmeaning1632
non-significative1633
brute1642
shelly1648
insignificant1651
insignificative1660
unsignificative1664
unsignifying1665
unsensed1667
meaningless1728
bilka1734
meanless1734
inexpressive1744
unideal1751
unexpressive1755
idealess1793
unsuggestive1797
tenorless1821
themeless1840
nonsensible1851
inarticulate1855
purportless1865
expressionless1871
vacuous1872
contentless1886
unmeaningful1897
1531 W. Tyndale Expos. Fyrste Epist. St. Jhon iii. sig. E.v They wil breake in to thy conscience, as the pope doeth with his domme traditions.
1542 H. Brinkelow Lamentacion sig. Cvii A popish Masse,..is to the people a domme, yee a deed Ceremonye.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §17 'Twas not dumbe chance, that..contrived a miscarriage in the Letter. View more context for this quotation
b. Foolish, stupid, ignorant (chiefly of persons); spec. dumb blonde, a conspicuously attractive but stupid blonde woman; dumb bunny, a stupid person; dumb Dora, a stupid girl; dumb ox, a stupid, awkward, or uncommunicative man (cf. sense A. 1b above); spec. a nickname for St. Thomas Aquinas. colloquial.Possibly reinforced by German dumm or Dutch dom.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
c1323 P. Calo Vita in D. Prümmer Fontes Vitae S. Thomae Aquinatis (1912) i. 78 Cœperunt eum Fratres vocare bovem mutum.]
1756 A. Butler Lives Saints I. 393 His [sc. St. Thomas's] school-fellows thought he learned nothing, and, on account of his silence, called him The dumb Ox.
1756 A. Butler Lives Saints I. 393 Albertus not able to contain his joy and admiration, said, ‘We call him the dumb ox, but he will give such a bellow in learning as will be heard all over the world.’
1823 J. F. Cooper Pilot II. iii. 39 ‘They're a dumb race’ said the cockswain,..‘now, there was our sargeant, who ought to know something.’
1825 J. F. Cooper Lionel Lincoln (1859) ix. 133 Do you think the Boston people so dumb as not to know the law?
1851 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend vi. 271 To gather in piles the pitiful chaff That old Peter Lombard thrashed with his brain, To have it caught up and tossed again On the horns of the Dumb Ox of Cologne.
1888 F. R. Stockton Dusantes 124 The Grootenheimers always was the dumbest family in the township.
1892 Harper's Mag. Feb. 441/1 My, but men are dumb. A woman would have caught on long ago.
1914 R. Brooke Let. 15–17 Aug. (1968) 609 This is a badly-written, dumb, letter.
1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 259 I been so dumb not to right away see it.
1922 Dial. Notes 5 141 Dumb-bunny [in College slang], a somewhat stupid person... ‘My dear, you are the preshest old dumb-bunny.’
1922 Dial. Notes 5 147 Dumbdora, a stupid girl.
1930 C. Terrett Only Saps Work 149 The police of Buffalo are too dumb—it would be redundant, I suppose, to say ‘and honest’—to play ball with the hold-up mobs.
1932 ‘A. Bridge’ Peking Picnic xx. 255 He is that dumb, if you'll pardon the word, madam, that not a bit of sense could I get out of him.
1936 ‘J. Tey’ Shilling for Candles vi. 62 A sulky fair girl, who played ‘dumb’ blondes from year's end to year's end.
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart i. i. 25 One has got to see just how dumb Mr. Quayne was. He had not got a mind that joins one thing and another up.
1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 24 Dumb bunny, stupid person.
1947 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Nov. 594/2 The cult of ‘dumb-ox’ individualism is certainly unsuitable for New Zealand, where the individual has rarely bulked as large as the State.
1959 ‘M. Derby’ Tigress ii. 88 The dumb blonde to whom all instruments and machinery were insoluble riddles.
1959 Listener 16 July 110/3 An amiable dumb-ox.
1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai ix. 145 They [sc. hens] would then wait expectantly, heads cocked on one side with a sort of dumb-Dora inquisitive chuckle.
c. Of a computer terminal: not intelligent (intelligent adj. 5); without any independent data-processing capability.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > [adjective] > independent > not
dumb1976
1976 Telecommunications Nov. 39/2 The totally nonintelligent, or dumb, or basic terminal is one thing that can be defined nonsubjectively.
1983 Your Business Computer Oct. 6/3 The dumb terminal relies on the host CPU for all processing, and is effectively a video monitor with a keyboard.
1985 Which Computer? Apr. 119/3 Dentron provides a central microcomputer to which ‘dumb’ terminals are attached (they are dumb in the sense that all the clever processing goes on in the central computer).
8. Lacking some property, quality, or accompaniment, normally belonging to things of the name. dumb ague, one in which the paroxysms are obscure; also, an irregular form of malarial fever, which lacks the usual chill; also dumb chill, dumb fever. dumb arch: cf. blind adj. 10 dumb chamber, one having no outlet. dumb nettle, the dead-nettle n.: cf. blind-nettle n. dumb nut (Scottish dialect), a deaf nut. dumb piano, a contrivance having a set of keys like a piano and used for exercising the fingers. Also dumb barge n., dumb-bell n., dumb craft n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > fever > [noun] > malaria
fever and ague1666
helodes1724
Roman fever1726
malaria1740
marsh fever1752
fen-fever1772
dumb ague1793
malaria fever1818
Panama fever1849
swamp fever1870
melanuric fever1875
tap1882
subtertian1902
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 131 Musick, three kettle drummes, and six dumb Musquets.
1793 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 3 p. iv Fever and ague..also visits the borders of limpid streams. The lesser degree of it generally called dumb ague, is not rare in the most salubrious places during the months of September and October.
1832 R. Baird View Valley of Mississippi viii. 73 These maladies are intermitting and remitting bilious fevers..which..have received the names of ‘ague’, ‘dumb ague’, and ‘chill and fever’.
1853 G. Bird Urinary Deposits (ed. 4) 435 Imperfect paroxysms, the ‘dumb-ague’ as they are often..called..appear again.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) 133 Dumb chill, or dumb ague, an expression common in malaria regions to denote that form of intermittent fever which has no well defined ‘chill’.
1866 D. Mitchell Hist. Montrose viii. 80 The dumb overarched spaces where the letters are put in.
1871 T. Watson Lect. Physic (ed. 5) II. xxxv. 763 This state is commonly known..as the dumb ague, or the dead ague; the patient is said not to shake out.
1888 W. R. Gowers Man. Dis. Nerv. Syst. II. v. 674 Gymnastic exercises are often distinctly useful..for which with advantage a ‘dumb piano’ may be used.
1893 G. E. Dartnell & E. H. Goddard Gloss. Words Wilts. 49 'Tis what 'ee do caal the dumb-agey.
1894 W. M. F. Petrie Hist. Egypt I. 185 A long staircase, which ended in a dumb chamber.
†9. Lacking brightness; dull, dim.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > dimness or absence of brightness > [adjective]
dima1000
darkOE
troublea1327
palec1385
dullc1430
unclearc1440
unbright1534
cloudy1556
unlight1570
muddy1600
wan1601
opacous1616
filmy1642
illuminous1656
crepuscular1668
dumb1720
rayless1754
opaque1794
veilya1802
turbid1811
unlucent1819
ineffulgent1824
blear1830
unrefulgent1856
subluminous1860
subaqueous1875
shineless1882
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 313 Her Stern..was painted of a dumb white, or dun Colour.
B. n.
†1. A dumb person. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 33 Utadrifene þam deofle, se dumbe spræc.]
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 122 A murthirer, a dum [L. mutus], or vngrate to his parents.
†2. A dumb state; a fit of dumbness. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vocal disorders > [noun] > dumbness
dumbnessc1380
speechlessness1580
dumb1640
deaf-dumbness1822
mutism1824
deaf-mutism1865
deaf-muteness1874
surdomutism1880
ineffableness1883
1640 T. Nabbes Bride ii. ii Suddaine dumbs: Whence are they?
?1679 Dumb Maid (single sheet) Can you cure a We[m]an of the Dumb?
3. North American. A foolish or stupid person. Also dum(b)-dum(b). colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun]
asseOE
sotc1000
beastc1225
long-ear?a1300
stock1303
buzzard1377
mis-feelinga1382
dasarta1400
stonea1400
dasiberd14..
dottlec1400
doddypoll1401
dastardc1440
dotterel1440
dullardc1440
wantwit1449
jobardc1475
nollc1475
assheada1500
mulea1500
dull-pate15..
peak1509
dulbert?a1513
doddy-patec1525
noddypolla1529
hammer-head1532
dull-head?1534
capon1542
dolt1543
blockhead1549
cod's head1549
mome1550
grout-head1551
gander1553
skit-brains?1553
blocka1556
calfa1556
tomfool1565
dunce1567
druggard1569
cobble1570
dummel1570
Essex calf1573
jolthead1573
hardhead1576
beetle-head1577
dor-head1577
groutnoll1578
grosshead1580
thickskin1582
noddyship?1589
jobbernowl1592
beetle-brain1593
Dorbel1593
oatmeal-groat1594
loggerhead1595
block-pate1598
cittern-head1598
noddypoop1598
dorbellist1599
numps1599
dor1601
stump1602
ram-head1605
look-like-a-goose1606
ruff1606
clod1607
turf1607
asinego1609
clot-poll1609
doddiea1611
druggle1611
duncecomb1612
ox-head1613
clod-polla1616
dulman1615
jolterhead1620
bullhead1624
dunderwhelpa1625
dunderhead1630
macaroona1631
clod-patea1635
clota1637
dildo1638
clot-pate1640
stupid1640
clod-head1644
stub1644
simpletonian1652
bottle-head1654
Bœotiana1657
vappe1657
lackwit1668
cudden1673
plant-animal1673
dolt-head1679
cabbage head1682
put1688
a piece of wood1691
ouphe1694
dunderpate1697
numbskull1697
leather-head1699
nocky1699
Tom Cony1699
mopus1700
bluff-head1703
clod skull1707
dunny1709
dowf1722
stupe1722
gamphrel1729
gobbin?1746
duncehead1749
half-wit1755
thick-skull1755
jackass1756
woollen-head1756
numbhead1757
beef-head1775
granny1776
stupid-head1792
stunpolla1794
timber-head1794
wether heada1796
dummy1796
noghead1800
staumrel1802
muttonhead1803
num1807
dummkopf1809
tumphya1813
cod's head and shoulders1820
stoopid1823
thick-head1824
gype1825
stob1825
stookiea1828
woodenhead1831
ning-nong1832
log-head1834
fat-head1835
dunderheadism1836
turnip1837
mudhead1838
donkey1840
stupex1843
cabbage1844
morepork1845
lubber-head1847
slowpoke1847
stupiditarian1850
pudding-head1851
cod's head and shoulders1852
putty head1853
moke1855
mullet-head1855
pothead1855
mug1857
thick1857
boodle1862
meathead1863
missing link1863
half-baked1866
lunk1867
turnip-head1869
rummy1872
pumpkin-head1876
tattie1879
chump1883
dully1883
cretin1884
lunkhead1884
mopstick1886
dumbhead1887
peanut head1891
pie-face1891
doughbakea1895
butt-head1896
pinhead1896
cheesehead1900
nyamps1900
box head1902
bonehead1903
chickenhead1903
thickwit1904
cluck1906
boob1907
John1908
mooch1910
nitwit1910
dikkop1913
goop1914
goofus1916
rumdum1916
bone dome1917
moron1917
oik1917
jabroni1919
dumb-bell1920
knob1920
goon1921
dimwit1922
ivory dome1923
stone jug1923
dingleberry1924
gimp1924
bird brain1926
jughead1926
cloth-head1927
dumb1928
gazook1928
mouldwarp1928
ding-dong1929
stupido1929
mook1930
sparrow-brain1930
knobhead1931
dip1932
drip1932
epsilon1932
bohunkus1933
Nimrod1933
dumbass1934
zombie1936
pea-brain1938
knot-head1940
schlump1941
jarhead1942
Joe Soap1943
knuckle-head1944
nong1944
lame-brain1945
gobshite1946
rock-head1947
potato head1948
jerko1949
turkey1951
momo1953
poop-head1955
a right one1958
bam1959
nong-nong1959
dickhead1960
dumbo1960
Herbert1960
lamer1961
bampot1962
dipshit1963
bamstick1965
doofus1965
dick1966
pillock1967
zipperhead1967
dipstick1968
thickie1968
poephol1969
yo-yo1970
doof1971
cockhead1972
nully1973
thicko1976
wazzock1976
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
no-brainer1979
jerkwad1980
woodentop1981
dickwad1983
dough ball1983
dickweed1984
bawheid1985
numpty1985
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
knob-end1989
Muppet1989
dingus1997
dicksack1999
eight ball-
1928 Daily Express 4 Dec. 10/3 A ‘dumb’ is a stupid person, and if he's dumb enough he'll probably drive you ‘cuckoo’ or crazy.
1970 L. Sanders Anderson Tapes xxxi. 81 You're no dumdum, are you?
1970 Calgary (Alberta) Herald 24 Aug. 9/1 Better they should employ some dumb-dumb.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, as dumb-born, dumb-cowed, dumb-discoursive, dumb-doggish, dumb-mad, dumb-stricken, dumb-struck, etc.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. iv. sig. Ll3 Thus would he..be dumbe-striken, when her presence gaue him fit occasion of speaking.
1594 M. Drayton Ideas Mirrour sig. C2v A dumbe-borne Muse made to expresse the mind.
1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. L2v Hee is often dumbe-madde, and goes fetter'd in his owne entrailes.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. ix. 186 Poor young Esmond was so dumb-stricken that he did not even growl.
1877 R. H. Roberts Harry Holbrooke of Holbrooke Hall vi. 95 For a few moments he remained dumb-struck.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. ix. 332 Affectionate in a dumb-doggish sort.
1890 R. Kipling Wee Willie Winkie 63 They were openly beaten, whipped, dumb-cowed, shaking and afraid.
C2.
dumb-chalder n. = dumb-cleat n.
dumb-cleat n. a metal cleat, bolted to the back of the stern-post for one of the rudder-pintles to rest on (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.).
dumb-drift n. an airway conveying foul air to the upcast shaft of a mine, past and not through the ventilating furnace, called when so arranged a dumb-furnace n.
ΚΠ
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 129 Dumb-drift, an air-way conveying air around, not through, a ventilating furnace to the upcast.
dumb-furnace n. see dumb-drift n.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Dumb furnace.
dumb-pintle n. a peculiar kind of pintle or rudder-strap.
ΚΠ
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 137 Sometimes one or two are shorter than the rest, and work in a socket-brace, whereby the rudder turns easier: the latter are called dumb-pintles.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. at Pintles The rudder is hung on to a ship by pintles and braces..a dumb pintle on the heel finally takes the strain off the hinging portions.
dumb-play n. = dumb show n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > [noun] > without speech
dumb show1594
pantomimicry1728
pantomime1791
dumb crambo1811
dumb-play1920
1920 Chambers's Jrnl. 374/1 A violent dumb-play of smoothing the hair and arranging the coats of pyjamas.
1921 Glasgow Herald 10 Feb. 6 Certain M.P.'s did take the part of actors and were duly taken and their dumb-play shown on the screen.
dumb-scraping n. ‘scraping wet-docks with blunt scrapers’ (Smyth).
dumb sheave n. a sheaveless block having a hole for a rope to be reeved through.
ΚΠ
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 74 There is a live sheave for the working top pendant, and a dumb one for the hawser.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 32 It is rove over a dumb sheave in the flying jib-boom end.
dumb singles n. a kind of silk merely wound and cleaned (Simmonds Dict. Trade).
dumb-sound v. to deaden the sound or noise of.
ΚΠ
1882 Evening Standard 3 Feb. To compel the Company to ‘dumb-sound’ and make water-tight a bridge which they propose building across Montpellier Road.
dumb-tooling n. Bookbinding = blind-tooling n. at blind adj. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1895 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Short Hist. Bookbinding 11 Great aptitude for receiving impressions of dumb or blind tooling.
dumb voice n. a ball used to register a vote (cf. voice n. 3a).
ΚΠ
a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) i. vii. 116 Agayne 24 are by lott selected, who being shutt vp in a chamber, may not depart till by dumb voyces, that is by diuers litle balls, they haue chosen eight Protectours.
dumb well n. a well sunk into a porous stratum, to carry off surface water or drainage; also called blind well, dead well.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage > specific type
pipe drain1766
air drainage1816
well drain1818
sheep drain1844
pipe drainage1851
dead well1859
mole ditch1860
dumb well1878
1878 J. T. Bunce Hist. B'ham I. 325 The contents of water-closets..pass..into dumb wells.
1888 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 39 272 A dumb well, viz., a well into which waste water flows through a pipe and thence percolates into the soil, is not a ‘drain or watercourse’ within the meaning of the Highway Act 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 50 §67.

Draft additions March 2016

dumb luck n. originally and chiefly U.S. luck, esp. good luck, viewed as being even more unpredictable or arbitrary than usual; pure chance.
ΚΠ
1865 Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) 31 Jan. Close to the lands of the Centre Oil Company there lives an old chap who is worth a mint. Ignorant, of course, dumb luck has made him rich.
1946 Cosmopolitan Oct. 34 Good zoo pictures are to a great extent dumb luck.
1990 Village Voice (N.Y.) 30 Jan. 62/4 Bromberg finds himself..dismissing to dumb luck his [sc. McLaren's] very real genius for trend-spotting.
2014 Time 2 June 40/1 Then there's the matter of coping with dumb luck. In tennis it may be an umpire's bad call, a freak gust of wind.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

dumbv.

Etymology: < dumb adj. (Old English had, in sense 1, adumbian.)
†1. intransitive. To become dumb, speechless, or silent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > be silent/refrain from speaking [verb (intransitive)] > stop speaking
to make up one's mouthc1175
to shut (also close) one's mouthc1175
blina1300
dumba1300
leavea1375
to put a sock in ita1529
hush1548
silence1551
stay1551
stow1567
stop1579
to save one's breath (also wind)1605
tace1697
stubble it!1699
shut your trap!1796
to keep a calm (or quiet) sough1808
stubble your whids!1830
to shut up1840
to dry up1853
pawl1867
subside1872
to pipe down1876
to shut (one's) head, face1876
shurrup1893
to shut off1896
clam1916
dry1934
shtum1958
to oyster up1973
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) i. 25 A-dumba and ga of þisum men.]
a1300 E.E. Psalter xxxviii[i]. 3 I doumbed [v.r. ic a-dumbade] and meked, and was ful stille.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xxxviii[i]. 13 I dumbid, and i oppynd not my mouth.
2. transitive. To render dumb, silent, or unheard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vocal disorders > cause a vocal disorder [verb (transitive)] > make dumb
dumb1599
1599 J. Sylvester tr. J. Du Nesme Miracle Peace in Fraunce 30 Deafning the winds, dumbing the loudest thunders.
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xx. 5 Deepe clearks she dumb 's. View more context for this quotation
1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 164 It..dumbs the mouth to Prayer.
1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. (1887) III. 14 A splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the tongue.
1895 Daily Tel. 22 Aug. 5/1 Sounds at sea..becoming arrested, and, as it were, dumbed by new strata of air.

Draft additions July 2009

transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). With up. To simplify or make less intellectually demanding, esp. in order to appeal to a broader audience. Cf. to dumb down at Additions.
ΚΠ
1927 N.Y. Times 4 Sept. ii. 3/4 ‘I don't think it will get across.’.. ‘All right,..let's dumb it up a little.’
1931 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 167/2 But what did they do to most of these famous plots? In Hollywood parlance, they ‘dumbed them up’ for the mob.
1994 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 28 Dec. Many new or struggling shows have been dumbed up: made simpler, more obvious and more broad in appeal.
2007 E. A. Hakanen Branding Teleself 110 Scientific themes were constructed and dumbed-up for the masses.

Draft additions June 2001

colloquial (originally U.S.). to dumb down.
a. transitive. To simplify or reduce the intellectual content of (esp. published or broadcast material) in order to appeal to a larger number of people. Also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1927 Los Angeles Sunday Times 18 Sept. ii. 2/7 Hollywood writers have a process called ‘dumbing it down’.
1951 S. J. Perelman Let. 23 Nov. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 119 The bulk of the changes was an effort to dumb the piece down for the Redbook reader.
1983 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. 3 July b3/4 Once out of school, former students, needing to break into a tough job market, are so used to being ‘dumbed down’ that they find reading this newspaper's job ads a difficult challenge.
1988 Daily Tel. 26 Sept. 18/3 ITV is already ‘dumbing down’ its programmes in anticipation of deregulation.
1994 Amer. Scholar Winter 14/2 My teachers, far from dumbing things down, were regularly smartening things up on me.
2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 336 It's hardly headline news that the corporate state and its media are using the latest gadget-com and gimmick-tech to dumb us down.
b. intransitive. To become less intellectually challenging or sophisticated, or produce less intellectually demanding material, esp. in order to appeal to a mass audience.
ΚΠ
1977 Boston Globe 24 Oct. 16/3 One of the requirements of the job was ‘an ability to dumb down’ for the general reader.
1984 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 29 July i. 2/5 Secretary of education T. H. Bell led the way with a speech earlier this year in which he accused textbook publishers of ‘dumbing down’ to accommodate students at the bottom of the class.
1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 12 Aug. 54/4 It is so ironic, but I fear that mammon and the perception (false I hope) of the need to dumb-down for mass audiences have brought us to this impasse of utter inconsistency.
2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 27 Aug. (Seven Days section) 1/1 This is just the BBC dumbing down.

Draft additions June 2001

ˌdumbed-ˈdown adj.
ΚΠ
1982 Washington Post 21 Sept. c3/1 The country faces a serious problem with the large numbers of people who choose not to read or only read simple ‘dumbed down’ material.
1999 Independent 26 May ii. 2/4 It is not that our dumbed-down education system produces students who do not know where (or what) Portugal is.

Draft additions June 2001

ˌdumbing-ˈdown n.
ΚΠ
1927 Los Angeles Sunday Times 18 Sept. ii. 2/7 We are kidding ourselves in the dumbing down process.
1980 U.S. News & World Rep. 4 Feb. 42/1 Education has taken several very backward steps in the last 20 years—for example, the so-called dumbing down of the textbooks: You don't teach difficult books, because college freshmen and sophomores can't read them. You don't ask for essay examinations, because they can't write. These are very serious losses.
1995 Daily Tel. 3 Aug. 14/7 If you doubt me, consider the dumbing down of big American movies for the international market in the past few years: all slapstick and Schwarzenegger.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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adj.n.OEv.a1300
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