dumbness
English
Etymology
From Middle English dombenesse, from Old English dumbnes; equivalent to dumb + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian dumbnisse (“folly, dumbness”).
Noun
dumbness (usually uncountable, plural dumbnesses)
- (dated) The state of being mute: that is, of not communicating vocally, whether from selective mutism (refusal to speak) or from an inability to speak.
- 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, "Sissy's Job,"
- He was a deaf-mute. His dumbness did not seem to matter when we were boys.
- 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, "Sissy's Job,"
- (dated) Muteness, silence; abstention from speech.
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The VVinters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:
- There was speech in their dumbness.
-
- (dated) Show or gesture without words; pantomime; dumb-show.
- c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
- To the dumbness of the gesture one might interpret.
-
- (informal) The quality of being stupid or foolish.
Derived terms
- artificial dumbness
Related terms
- dumb
- dumb-show
Translations
the state of being mute
|
the quality of being stupid
|