deaf

deaf · adjective, noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*dʰewbʰ-“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*daubaz“deaf or stunned”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*daub“deaf”
4. Old English · inherited fromdēaf
5. Middle English · inherited fromdef
6. English todaydeaf

From Middle English def, deef, from Old English dēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub (“deaf”), from Proto-Germanic *daubaz (“deaf or stunned”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τυφλός (tuphlós, “blind”). See also dumb. Doublet of daff, dof, and dowf. Cognate with Dutch doof, German taub, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål døv, Norwegian Nynorsk dauv, Swedish döv, Faroese deyvur, Icelandic daufur.

Deaf · adjective²

From deaf.

Words from the same roots