Dumb \Dumb\, a. [AS. dumb; akin to D. dom stupid, dumb, Sw.
dumb, Goth. dumbs; cf. Gr. ? blind. See Deaf, and cf.
Dummy.]
1. Destitute of the power of speech; unable; to utter
articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes.
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To unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures.
--Hooker.
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2. Not willing to speak; mute; silent; not speaking; not
accompanied by words; as, dumb show.
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This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. --Shak.
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To pierce into the dumb past. -- J. C.
Shairp.
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3. Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color. [R.]
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Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color.
--De Foe.
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Deaf and dumb. See Deaf-mute.
Dumb ague, or Dumb chill, a form of intermittent fever
which has no well-defined "chill." [U.S.]
Dumb animal, any animal except man; -- usually restricted
to a domestic quadruped; -- so called in contradistinction
to man, who is a "speaking animal."
Dumb cake, a cake made in silence by girls on St. Mark's
eve, with certain mystic ceremonies, to discover their
future husbands. --Halliwell.
Dumb cane (Bot.), a west Indian plant of the Arum family
(Dieffenbachia seguina), which, when chewed, causes the
tongue to swell, and destroys temporarily the power of
speech.
Dumb crambo. See under crambo.
Dumb show.
(a) Formerly, a part of a dramatic representation, shown
in pantomime. "Inexplicable dumb shows and noise."
--Shak.
(b) Signs and gestures without words; as, to tell a story
in dumb show.
To strike dumb, to confound; to astonish; to render silent
by astonishment; or, it may be, to deprive of the power of
speech.
Syn: Silent; speechless; noiseless. See Mute.
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