Talk:dumb
Latest comment: 9 years ago by Kolmiel in topic German influence
Question[edit]
Does anyone know the German word for either donkey or dumb?
German influence[edit]
I think it might be useful to cite a reliable source for the claim that the sense "stupid" derived under German influence. This sense is found today in most (all?) Germanic languages. In Low German, the word for "deaf" (doof) also came to mean "stupid". This is a common thing because mute or deaf people were thought to be stupid... I'm not saying the claim isn't true, though! Kolmiel (talk) 18:10, 5 June 2014 (UTC)
- Don't know if it's a "reliable source" in every sense of the word, but Online Etymology Dictionary does mention it.