English
deaf
Deaf comes from Proto-Germanic *daubaz ‘deaf or stunned’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-‘to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daubaz‘deaf or stunned’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daubreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēaf
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500def
- Englishearliest quotation 1599deaf
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-‘to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daubaz‘deaf or stunned’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daubreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēaf
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500def
- Englishearliest quotation 1599deaf
Earliest quotation: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Come on my right hand, for this ear is…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure’
bottom, fund, foundation, deep, dumb, depth, founder, dip, fond, bot, dove, dub, bourne, butte, typhus, 24 more
through Proto-West Germanic *daub
through Old English dēaf
Today it means
adj Unable (or partially able) to hear.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- / deaf