dull 
lessen the vigor, activity, or sensitiveness of; 
render inanimate; dump: as, to dull tin- \vits; 
to dull the senses. 
How may ye thus ineane you with mails, for shame ! 
Yoniv dedis mi- </</ll<*. ,\ dos out of hope. 
11,-itrni-tiitii i,/ /,,/ (I). E. T. S.), 1. 11314. 
I hate to hearc, lowd plaints have ifulrl mine eares. 
.S'/x'/wcr, l>aphnalda, v. 
Those | dnii;.-, | she has 
\Vi1l stupify ami /"// Hie sens*; awhile. 
Shak., Cymbeline, 1.6. 
The nobles and the people are all dull d 
With this usurping Bng. 
I '.mi. and /'/ . Philaster, iii. 
tint! not thy days away In slothful supinity and the 
tediousness of doing nothing. 
Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., I. xxxlll. 
2. To render dim; sully; tarnish or cloud : as, 
the breath dulls a mirror. 
She deem'd no mist of earth could dull 
Those spirit-thrilling eyes so keen and beautiful. 
Tennysnn, Ode to Memory. 
3. To make less sharp or acute; render blunt 
or obtuse: as, to dull a knife or a needle. 4. 
To make less keenly felt ; moderate the inten- 
sity of : as, to it nil pain. 
Weep; weeping dulls the inward pain. 
Tennyson, To J. S. 
II. intrans. If. To become dull or blunt ; be- 
come stupid. 
Right nought am I thurgh youre doctriue, 
I dull? under youre discipline. 
Rom. of the Base, 1. 4792. 
Which [wit] rusts and tints, except It subiect flnde 
Worthy it's worth, whereon it self to grinde. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas s Weeks, i. 6. 
2. To become calm; moderate: as, the wind 
dulled, or dulled down, about twelve o'clock. 
[Rare.j 3. To become deadened in color; 
lose brightness. 
The day had dulled somewhat, and far out among the 
western isles that lay along the horizon there was a faint, 
still mist that made them shadowy and vague. 
W. Black, A Daughter of Heth, xx. 
dull 2 (dul), n. [Origin obscure ; there is no 
evidence to connect it with dole 3 , < L. dolun, a 
device, artifice, snare, net, < Gr. AW-of, a bait 
for fish, a snare, net, device, artifice.] A noose 
of string or wire used to snare fish; usually, 
a noose of bright copper wire attached by a 
short string to a stout pole. [Southern U. S.] 
dull 2 (dul), v. i. [< dull?, n.] To fish with a 
dull : as, to dull for trout. [Southern U. S.] 
I hope that the barbarous practice called dulling has 
gone out of fashion. Forest and Stream, March 11, 1880. 
dullard (dul'ard), n. and ft. [< ME. dullarde; 
< dull + -ard"] I. 11. A dull or stupid person; 
a dolt ; a blockhead ; a dunce. 
They which cannot doe it are holden dullards and 
blockes. riirflins. Pilgrimage, p. 342. 
!H. . Dull ; doltish ; stupid. 
But would I bee a poet if I might, 
To rub my browes three days, and wake three nights, 
And bite my nails, and scratch my dullard head? 
Bp. Hall, Satires, I. Iv. 
dullardism (dul'ar-dizm), n. [< dullard + 
-ixiii.] Stupidity;doltishness. Maunder. [Rare.] 
dull-brained (dul'brand), a. Having a dull 
brain; being slow to understand or compre- 
hend. 
This arm of mine hath chastised 
The petty rebel, dull-brain'd Buckingham. 
Shak., Rich. III., IT. 4. 
dull-browed (dul'broud), a. Having a gloomy 
brow or look. 
Let us screw our pampered hearts a pitch beyond the 
reach of dull-brou<ed sorrow. 
Quarle*, Judgment and Mercy. 
duller (dul'er),. Onewhoorthatwhichmakes 
dull. 
Your grace must fly phlebotomy, fresh pork, conger, 
and clarified whey ; they are all dullers of the vital spirits. 
Beau, and Ft., Philastcr, ii. 1. 
dulleryt (dul'er-i), . [= MLG. dullerie; as 
dull -I- -fryi.] Dullness; stupidity. 
Master Autitus of fresseplots was licentiated, and had 
passed his degrees in all dullery and bloekishness. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, II. 11. 
dull-eyed (dul'id), a. Having eyes dull in ex- 
pression ; being of dull vision. 
I'll not lie made a soft and dull^y'd fool. 
Shak'., M. of V.. iii. X. 
dullhead (dul'hed), H. A person of dull under- 
standing ; a dolt ; a blockhead. 
This people (sayth he) l>e fooles and tliilhetlfit to all 
goodnes. A.*-lnii/i. The s ( -link-master, p. 7(1. 
[< (lull + -ishl.] Some- 
1795 
They are somewhat heavy In motion and t/ullinh, which 
must lie imputed to the quality of the elime. 
//,, Parly of leasts, p. 12. 
dullness, dulness (dul'nes), . [< ME. dul- 
//c.sw, ilnlliiifi. tin/in sue, dolncs; < dull + -ness.] 
The state or quality of being dull, in any sense 
of that word. 
Thou art Inclin'd to sleep ; 'tis a good dulness, 
And give it way. Shak., Tempest, i. 2. 
Dttlness, that in a playhouse meets disgrace, 
Might meet with reverence In its proper place. 
Dryden, Troilus and Cresslda, Prol., I. 25. 
Nor Is the dulnrns of the scholar to extinguish, but 
rather to inllame, the charity of the teacher. 
South, Sermons. 
And gentle Dulnetis ever loves a joke. 
/'../. Dunciad, II. 34. 
When coloured windows came Into use, the comparative 
dulness of the former mode of decoration [fresco] was im- 
mediately felt. J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 620. 
Cardiac dullness. See cardiac. = Syn. Baldness, Heavi- 
ness, etc. (in style). See frigidity. 
dully (dul'li), rfr. In a dull manner; stupid- 
ly; sluggishly; without life or spirit; dimly; 
bluntly. 
She has a sad and darkened soul, loves itnllti. 
Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, iv. 1. 
The dome dully tinted with violet mica. 
L. Wallace, Ben-Hur, p. 317. 
dully (dul'i), a. [< dull + -y.] Somewhat 
dull. [Poetical.] 
Far off she seem'd to hear the dully sound 
of human footsteps fall. Tennyson, Palace of Art 
dulness, . See dullness. 
dulocracyt (du-lok'ra-si), n. [Also written dou- 
locracy ; < Gr. iovAoK/iaTia, < ioiil.oc, a slave, + 
-Kparia, < Kparciv, rule. ] Predominance of slaves ; 
a government of or by means of slaves. E. 
Phillips, 1706. 
dulse (duls), . [Also dial, dullis, dilse, dills, 
dillisk; < Gael, duileasg, duileosg = Ir. duileasg, 
duilliasg, dulse, perhaps < Gael. Ir. duille, a leaf, 
+ (Ir. ) uisge, water: see usquebaugh, whisky.] 
A seaweed, Rhodymenia palmata, belonging to 
the order Floridea;. It has bright-red, broadly wedge- 
shaped fronds, from 6 to 12 inches long and 4 to 8 inches 
broad, irregularly cleft or otherwise divided, and often 
bearing frondlete on the margin. It Is common between 
tide-marks, and extends into deeper waters, adhering to 
the rocks and to other alga?. It is eaten in New England 
and in Scotland ; in Iceland It is an important plant, and 
Is stored in casks to be eaten with fish; in Kamtchatka a 
fermented liquor is made from it. In the south of England 
this name is given also to another alga of the same order, 
Iridcea edulis. 
What dost thou here, young wife, by the water-side, 
Gathering crimson dulse! Celia Thaxter, All's Well. 
Craw dulse, Rhodymenia ciliata. [Scotch.] Pepper 
dulse, Laurencia pinnatifida. [Scotch.] 
Dulus (du'lus), . [NL. (Vieillot, 1816), < Gr. 
<5oWof, a slave. The bird used to be called Taii- 
gara esclace.] A genus of probably vireonine 
dullish (dul'ish), a. 
what Uull. 
dentirostral oscine birds of the West Indies, 
representing a subfamily IMime, the position 
of which is unsettled. In some respects it re- 
sembles Icteria. D. dominions is the only es- 
tablished species. 
dulwllly (dul'wil-i), M. [E. dial.] The ring- 
plover, JEgialites hiaticula. Montagu. 
duly 1 (du'li), adv. [< ME. ditely, dewly, diewly, 
durliclir; < duel- + -fy 2 .] In a due manner; 
when or as due; agreeably to obligation or 
propriety; exactly; fitly; properly. 
Vnto my dygnytc dere sail difirly be dyghte 
A place full of plente to my plesyng at ply. 
York Plays, p. 1. 
That they may have their wages duly paid them, 
And something over to remember me by. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., iv. -2. 
As our Saviour, during his forty days' stay on earth, 
fully enabled his apnstlcs to attest his resurrection, so did 
lu- qualify them thili/ to preaeh liis dnctrine. 
llji. Ath'rhtirv. Sermons, II. vii. 
Seldom at church, 'twas such a busy life ; 
But (tulit sent his family and wife. 
Pope, Moral Essays, iii. 382. 
dumb-cake 
None duly loves thcr but who, nobly free 
Kroin sensual object*, finds his all in (her. 
Cowper, Glory to I Jod Alone. 
duly' 2 (du'li), w. [< dulia, q. v.] Same as diilia. 
Now call you this devotion, as you please, whether duly 
or hyperduly or indirect, <n- n dm iin . 1,1 1 . llccted or ana- 
gogical worship, which i lii-stnved on sneh images. 
/;/ < tut, Saul and Samuel at Kndor, p. 852. 
dumt, ft. An obsolete spelling of. dumb. 
dumal (du'mal), a. [< LL. dumalis, < L. <l- 
mus, Oil. dujtmus, a thorn-bush, a bramble, per- 
haps akin (as if a contraction of 'tlensimus) to 
densus = Gr. cJofjiV, thick, dense: see dense.] 
Pertaining to briers ; bushy, 
dumb (dum), a. [Early mod. E. also dum, 
dunibc; < ME. dumb, domli, donnib, < AS. dumb, 
mute, = OPries. dumbe, dumi = D. dom = 
MLG. LG. dum, dull, stupid, = OHG. tumb, 
MHG. tump, turn, G. (with LG. rf) dumtn, mute, 
stupid, = Icel. diimbr, dumbi. mute, = Sw. dumb, 
mute, ffuw-stupid, = Dan. ai, stupid, = Goth. 
dumbs. OHG. tumb, G. dumm, is found also in 
sense of 'deaf (OHG. toup); cf. Gr. n^.oc, 
blind ; perhaps the two words are ult. con- 
nected, the orig. sense being then 'dull of per- 
ception.' See deaf.] 1. Mute; silent; refrain- 
ing from speech. 
I was dumb with silence ; I held my peace. Ps. xxxlx. 2. 
Dnmbe as any ston, 
Thou sittest ut another booke, 
Tyl fully dasewyd is thy looke. 
Chaucer, House of Kaine, 1. 658. 
To praise him we sould not be dum in. 
Battle of Harlaw (LIMA'S Ballads, VII. 189). 
Since they never hope to make Conscience dumb, they 
would have it sleep as much as may be. 
Stillinifjteet, Sermons, I. xi. 
2. Destitute of the power of speech ; unable to 
utter articulate sounds: as, a deaf and dumh 
person; the dumb brutes. 3. Mute; not accom- 
panied with or emitting speech or sound : as, a 
i(nml> show ; dumb signs. 
Such shapes, such gesture, and such sound, expressing 
(Although they want the use of tongue) a kind 
Of excellent dumb discourse. Shak., Tempest, ill. 3. 
You shan't come near him ; none of your dumb signs. 
Steele, Lying Lover, ill. 1. 
Hence 4. Lacking some usual power, mani- 
festation, characteristic, or accompaniment; 
destitute of reality in some respect ; irregular; 
simulative: as, dumb ague; dumb craft. See 
phrases below. 5. Dull; stupid; doltish. [Lo- 
cal, U. S. In Pennsylvania this use is partly 
due to the G. dumm.} 6. Deficient in clear- 
ness or brightness, as a color. [Rare.] 
Her stern was painted of a ihnnlt white or dun colour. 
Df/or. 
Deaf and dumb. See deaf-mute^ Dumb ague, a IHIPH- 
lar name of an irregular intermittent fever, lacking the 
usual chill or cold stage; masked fever. Dumb bors- 
holder, an old staff of office, serving also as an imple- 
ment to break open doors and the like In the service of 
the law, of which an example is preserved at Twyford in 
the county of Kent, England. It was made of wood, aliout 
3 feet long, with an iron spike at one end and several iron 
rings attached, through which cords could be passed. J. 
A. A., IX. 505. Dumb compass. See coin nun. Dumb 
craft, lighters and boats not having sails. Dumb cram- 
bo, furnace, etc. See the nouns. Dumb piano. Same 
as diqitorium. Dumb spinet. Same as manichord. 
To strike dumb, to render silent from astonishment ; 
confound ; astonish. 
Alas ! this parting strikes poor lovers dumb. 
Sliak., T. O. of V., II. 2. 
= Syn. 1 and 2. Mute, etc. See silent. 
dumb (dum), v. [< ME. doumben, < AS. d-dtim- 
IIIIIH. intr., become dumb, be silent, < dumb, 
dumb: see dumb, a.] I.t intrans. To become 
dumb ; be silent. 
I doumbed and meked and was fill still--. 
Ps. xxxviii. 3 (ME. version). 
II. trans. To make dumb; silence; over- 
power the sound of. 
An arm-gaunt steed, 
Who neigh'd so high, that what I would have spoke 
Was beastly dumb'd by him. Shalt., A. and <'., I. 5. 
dumb-bell (dum'bel), w. One of a pair of 
weights, each consisting of two balls joined by 
a bar, intended to be swung in the hands for 
the sake of muscular exercise, made of iron, or 
for very light exercise of hard wood. 
Brandishing of two sticks, grasped in each hand and 
loaden with plugs of lead at either end : . . . sometimes 
practised in the present day, and called "ringingofthc 
tininh bell*." Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 142. 
dumb-bidding (dum 'bid 'ing), . A form of 
bidding at auctions, where the exposer puts a 
reserved bid under a candlestick or other cov- 
ering, and no sale is effected unless the bidding 
comes up to that. 
dumb-cake (dum'kak), n. A cake made in si- 
lence ou St. Mark's Eve, with numerous cere- 
