Where does “dumb” come from?

dumb (Middle English) comes from Old English dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic dumbaz, from Proto-Indo-European dʰewbʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- — smoke; mist, haze.

dumb (Middle English): Lacking or failing to display the faculty of...

Definitions

  1. Lacking or failing to display the faculty of...

Ancestry of “dumb”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishdumbmute, dumb; a mute
2Proto-Germanic*dumb—
3Proto-Germanicdumbazdumb, mute, unable to speak
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewbʰ-deep
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “dumb”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →