Where does “dumbed-down” come from?
dumbed-down (English) comes from English Down, from Middle English doun, from Old English dūn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnā, from Proto-Celtic dūnom, from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- — smoke; mist, haze.
dumbed-down (English): Made condescendingly simple
Definitions
- Made condescendingly simple
Ancestry of “dumbed-down”, step by step
dumbed-down traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Down
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Down | usually known as County Down |
| 2 | Middle English | doun | down |
| 3 | Old English | dūn | hill, down; hill, dune; hill, mountain |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *dūnā | — |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English dumbed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dumbed | simple past tense and past participle of dumb |