Dumb

(dŭm), a. [A-S. dumb, Goth. dumbs, Icel. dumbi, Sw. dumb, dum, Dan. dum, O. H. Ger. tumb, dumb, stupid, dull; N. H. Ger. dumm, D. dom, dull, stupid; Icel. dumba, darkness; Ir., Gael. dubh, black, dark.] 1. Destitute of the power of speech; unable to utter articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes. It has pleased himself to unloose the very tongues of dumb creatures. Hooker. 2. Not willing to speak; mute; silent; not speaking. Struck dumb, they all adored the godlike man. Dryden. 3. Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color; dim. [Rare.] Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color. Defoe. Deaf and dumb. See DEAF-MUTE. — To strike dumb, to confound; to astonish; to render silent by astonishment; or, it may be, to deprive of the power of speech. — Dumb ague, or dumb chill, a form of intermittent fever which has no well-defined “chill.” [U. S.] Syn. — Mute; silent; speechless. See MUTE.