Where does “dull-headed” come from?
dull-headed (English) comes from English headed, from English head, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
dull-headed (English): dull-witted; not clever
Definitions
- dull-witted; not clever
Ancestry of “dull-headed”, step by step
dull-headed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English headed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | headed | Of a sheet of paper: having the sender's name,... |
| 2 | English | head | The part of the body of an animal or human which... |
| 3 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 4 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 5 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
via English dull
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dull | Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp;... |
| 2 | Middle English | dull | — |
| 3 | Old English | dol | foolish |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *dol | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | dulaz | confused, stunned; foolish, misled, mad |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | dwalaz | confused, stunned; foolish, misled, mad |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰwel- | — |