Dumb /(dŭm)/

Dumb

Destitute of the power of speech; unable; to utter articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes.
To unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures.
— Hooker.
Not willing to speak; mute; silent; not speaking; not accompanied by words; as, dumb show.
This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.
— Shak.

To pierce into the dumb past.
— J. C. Shairp.
Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color. [R.]
Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color.
— De Foe.
Lacking intelligence; having poor judgment; stupid; dull-witted; -- of persons.
Exhibiting poor judgment or lack of wisdom; leading predictably to unfavorable consequences; -- of actions.

Deaf and dumb: See Deaf-mute.
Dumb ague: a form of intermittent fever which has no well-defined “chill.”
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.
Dumb cane: 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: Formerly, a part of a dramatic representation, shown in pantomime.
To strike dumb: to confound; to astonish; to render silent by astonishment; or, it may be, to deprive of the power of speech.

v. t.