Where does “dumbstruck” come from?
Dumbstruck combines English dumb, from Middle English dumb and Old English dumbian, with English struck, tracing through Proto-Germanic dumbaz and Proto-Indo-European dʰewbʰ- and dʰewh₂-, meaning to stupefy or render speechless.
dumbstruck (English): so shocked as to be unable to speak
Definitions
- so shocked as to be unable to speak
Ancestry of “dumbstruck”, step by step
dumbstruck traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English dumb
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dumb | Unable to speak; lacking power of speech; Silent;... |
| 2 | English | damn | To condemn to hell; To condemn; to declare... |
| 3 | Middle English | dampnen | to damn |
| 4 | Old French | dampner | to damn |
| 5 | Latin | damnō | to discredit, find fault, disapprove, reject |
| 6 | Latin | damnum | damage or injury; loss; a fine |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | dapnom | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dh₂pnóm | expense, investment |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂p- | to sacrifice; to lose |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |
via English struck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | struck | simple past tense and past participle of strike |