different between dumb vs airhead
dumb
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d?m/
- Rhymes: -?m
Etymology 1
From Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?ewb?- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”).
The senses of stupid, unintellectual, and pointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence of German dumm and Dutch dom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on.
Adjective
dumb (comparative dumber, superlative dumbest)
- (dated) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech (kept in "deaf, dumb, and blind").
- Synonyms: dumbstruck, mute, speechless, wordless
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures
- (dated) Silent; unaccompanied by words.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1, Act II, sc. 4:
- Since you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak
- In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 23:
- O let my books be then the eloquence
- And dumb presagers of my speaking breast ...
- 1881, John Campbell Shairp, Aspects of Poetry
- to pierce into the dumb past
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1, Act II, sc. 4:
- (informal, derogatory, especially of a person) Extremely stupid.
- Synonyms: feeble-minded, idiotic, moronic, stupid; see also Thesaurus:stupid
- (figuratively) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.
- Synonyms: banal, brainless, dopey, silly, stupid, ridiculous, vulgar
- Lacking brightness or clearness, as a colour.
- 1720, Daniel Defoe, The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton
- Her stern, which was painted of a dumb white or dun color.
- 1720, Daniel Defoe, The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English dumben, from Old English dumbian (more commonly in compound ?dumbian (“to become mute or dumb; keep silence; hold one’s peace”)), from Proto-Germanic *dumbijan?, *dumb?n? (“to be silent, become dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?ewb?- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with German verdummen (“to become dumb”).
Verb
dumb (third-person singular simple present dumbs, present participle dumbing, simple past and past participle dumbed)
- (dated) To silence.
- 1607, William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I, sc. 5:
- ... what I would have spoke
- Was beastly dumbed by him.
- 1607, William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I, sc. 5:
- (transitive) To make stupid.
- (transitive) To represent as stupid.
- (transitive) To reduce the intellectual demands of.
Derived terms
Middle English
Alternative forms
- domb, doumb, dowmb, dom, domm, dum, doum, dowm, domp, doump
Etymology
From Old English dumb
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?dum(b)/, /?du?m(b)/
Adjective
dumb (plural and weak singular dumbe)
- Lacking or failing to display the faculty of voice:
- Unspeaking; unable to speak or having muteness.
- (substantive) A mute; one who can't speak.
- Temporarily unable to speak due to strong emotions.
- Unwilling or reluctant to speak; not speaking.
- Powerless, ineffectual (either inherently or due to events)
- Unknowledgeable; having no understanding or sense.
- (of animals) Unwilling or unable to make a noise; quiet or silent.
- (rare) Unrevealing, useless; having no important messages or lessons.
- (rare) Having nothing to keep one busy or engaged.
- (rare, figuratively) Refusing to preach or evangelise.
- (rare, figuratively) Refusing to be conceited or vainglorious.
Derived terms
- dombenesse
- dumben
Descendants
- English: dumb
- Scots: dumb
References
- “d?mb, d?umb, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-04-27.
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *dumb.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dumb/
Adjective
dumb
- mute, dumb (unable to speak)
- (substantive) a mute
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 11:14
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 11:14
Declension
Related terms
- dumbnes
Descendants
- Middle English: dumb
- Scots: dumb
- English: dumb
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airhead
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /???h?d/
- (General American) IPA(key): /????(h)?d/
- Hyphenation: air?head
Etymology 1
From air +? head (“foremost, topmost, or leading part”), sense 1 (“area of hostile territory seized for use as an airbase”) by analogy with beachhead and bridgehead.
Noun
airhead (plural airheads)
- (military) An area of hostile territory that has been seized for use as an airbase to ensure the further safe landing of troops and materiel.
- (by extension) A (usually temporary) landing area for aircraft for supplying a non-military operation.
- (mining, archaic) Alternative form of air-head (“a horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.”)
Coordinate terms
- (military): beachhead, bridgehead, railhead
Translations
Etymology 2
From air +? head, in the sense of having one’s head filled with air instead of a brain; compare empty-headed.
Noun
airhead (plural airheads)
- (originally US, informal, derogatory) A foolish, silly, or unintelligent person.
- Synonyms: airling, bimbo, bubblehead; see also Thesaurus:idiot
Hyponyms
- dumb blonde
Derived terms
Translations
References
Further reading
- airhead on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- airhead (subculture) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- airhead (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
airhead From the web:
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- what's airheads mystery flavor
- what airhead in tagalog
- airheads what are you thinking about
- what does airhead mean
- what are airheads made of
- what are airheads candy
- what are airheads made out of
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