deaf

• adj. 聾的

來自PIE*dheubh, 混亂，模糊，詞源同dumb, dull.引申義聾的。

deaf

deaf: [OE] Ultimately, deaf and dumb come from the same source, and moreover they are related to a Greek word for ‘blind’. The common denominator ‘sensory or mental impairment’ goes back to an Indo-European base *dheubh-, which denoted ‘confusion, stupefaction, dizziness’. It produced Greek tuphlós ‘blind’; English dumb; and a prehistoric Germanic adjective *daubaz ‘dull, stupefied, slow’.

Many of the modern descendants of *daubaz retain this general sense – Danish doven means ‘lazy’ – but English has specialized it to ‘dull in hearing’. Duffer may ultimately be derived from Old Norse daufr ‘deaf’ in which the sense ‘dull, stupid’ is preserved.
=> duffer, dumb

deaf (adj.)

Old English deaf "deaf," also "empty, barren," specialized from Proto-Germanic *daubaz (cognates: Old Saxon dof, Old Norse daufr, Old Frisian daf, Dutch doof "deaf," German taub, Gothic daufs "deaf, insensate"), from PIE dheubh-, which was used to form words meaning "confusion, stupefaction, dizziness" (cognates: Greek typhlos "blind," typhein "to make smoke;" Old English dumb "unable to speak;" Old High German tumb).

The word was pronounced to rhyme with reef until 18c. Deaf-mute is from 1837, after French sourd-muet. Deaf-mutes were sought after in 18c.-19c. Britain as fortune-tellers. Deaf as an adder (Old English) is from Psalms lviii:5.

1. I hope that our appeals will not fall on deaf ears.

我希望我們的呼籲不會沒人理睬。

來自柯林斯例句

2. He has turned a resolutely deaf ear to American demands for action.

他對美國提出的行動要求完全不理不睬。

來自柯林斯例句

3. I'm quite deaf — you'll have to speak up.

我耳背——你得大聲說。

來自柯林斯例句

4. The provincial assembly were deaf to all pleas for financial help.

省議會對所有的經濟救助請求都充耳不聞。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Many deaf people have feelings of isolation and loneliness.

很多失聰者都有孤獨無助的感覺。

來自柯林斯例句