dave

The story

1. Old Norse · derived fromdeyfa“to make deaf, make blunt, numb, soothe, allay”
2. Old English · inherited fromdēafian“to wax or become deaf”
3. Middle English · inherited fromdeven
4. English todaydave

From Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), from Old English dēafian (“to wax or become deaf”) and Old Norse deyfa (“to make deaf, make blunt, numb, soothe, allay”). Cognate with dialectal Norwegian døyva (“to deafen, make dull”).