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deaf

Pronunciation: /dɛf/

The English word “deaf” has 7 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Unable (or partially able) to hear.
  2. Unwilling to listen or be persuaded; determinedly inattentive.
  3. Of or relating to the community of deaf people.
  4. Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened.
  5. Decayed; tasteless; useless.

noun

  1. A deaf person.

verb

  1. To deafen.

Etymology

From Middle English def, deef, from Old English dēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub (“deaf”), from Proto-Germanic *daubaz (“deaf or stunned”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τυφλός (tuphlós, “blind”). See also dumb. Doublet of daff, dof, and dowf. Cognate with Dutch doof, German taub, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål døv, Norwegian…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.