Wordwyrt

numbness

/ˈnʌmnəs/NUHM-nuhs
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked
/ˈnʌmnəs/NUHM-nuhs

Meaningthe state or quality of being taken, seized

Common meaning: the state or quality of being numb

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Journey through time

  1. Old Englishniman‘to take’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishnomen‘seized’source
  3. Englishnumb‘without feeling’
  4. Englishformed in English from numbnumbness‘the state or quality of being numb’ · today

Sources & notes

Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: the state or quality of being taken, seized. It can be inferred from any of: numb.

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from numb + -ness (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).

Source words

  • niman Old English · source word “to take”

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