Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

deaf

/dɛf/ noun

In Latin: surdus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about deaf at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

People who have severe hearing impairments.
many of the deaf use sign language

verb

Make or render deaf.
a deafening noise

adjective

Lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.
(usually followed by `to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed.
deaf to her warnings

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word