dumbness en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English dombenesse, from Old English dumbnes; equivalent to dumb + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian dumbnisse (“folly, dumbness”).
Meanings
-
(dated, offensive, uncountable, usually) The state of being mute: that is, of not communicating vocally, whether from selective mutism (refusal to speak) or from an inability to speak.
He was a deaf-mute. His dumbness did not seem to matter when we were boys.
1944, Emily Carr, “Sissy's Job”, in The House of All Sorts:
-
(dated, uncountable, usually) Muteness, silence; abstention from speech.
There was speech in their dumbness.
c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
-
(dated, uncountable, usually) Show or gesture without words; pantomime; dumb-show.
To the dumbness of the gesture one might interpret.
c. 1605–1608 (date written), 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, [Act I, scene i]:
- (informal, uncountable, usually) The quality of being stupid or foolish.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dumbnesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| dumbnesse | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (16)
ru тупость (the quality of being stupid) · la alogia (the state of being mute) · enm dombenesse (the state of being mute) · ga balbhántaíocht (the state of being mute) · syc ܚܪܫܘܬܐ (the state of being mute) · de Mutitas (the state of being mute) · ro muțenie (the state of being mute) · de Stummheit (the state of being mute) · ga bailbhe (the state of being mute) · tr dilsizlik (the state of being mute) · ota شاشقینلق (the quality of being stupid) · fi tyhmyys (the state of being mute) · ru немота́ (the state of being mute) · it mutezza (the state of being mute) · ru тупизна (the quality of being stupid) · ka სიმუნჯე (the state of being mute)