dumb
Meaning
Lacking the power of speech
Stupid or unintelligent
Temporarily speechless, as from shock or strong emotion
To make less vivid, distinct, or loud
Usage
The injury left him permanently dumb.
That was a really dumb mistake to make.
She was struck dumb by the magnificent view.
Etymology
The word 'dumb' originates from the Old English 'dumb', meaning 'mute, silent, speechless'. This descends from the Proto-Germanic dumbaz, which carried the same meaning. The sense of 'stupid, foolish' is a secondary development, first recorded in English around the 1820s, arising from the association between an inability to speak and a perceived lack of intelligence. This semantic shift from physical muteness to mental dullness illustrates a common pattern of pejoration in language evolution.
Analysis
The word 'dumb' is a simplex word of Germanic origin. It functions as a complete, unanalyzable root in modern English.