deaf
/diːf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.99 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Unwilling to listen or be persuaded; determinedly inattentive.
adj
Of or relating to the community of deaf people.
noun
A deaf person.
adj
Of or relating to the culture surrounding deaf users of sign languages.
Example Sentences
- "My brother has been deaf since sustaining injuries in the war."
- "It's important for TV shows to provide closed captioning for the deaf."
- "Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf."
- "Deaf vvith the noyſe I took my haſty flight."
- "Those people are deaf to reason."
- "O, that men's ears should be / To counsel deaf, but not to flattery!"
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /diːf/
Usage
- Obsolete
- British usage
- Transitive verb