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Dumb vs Fin - What's the difference?

dumb | fin |

As an adjective dumb

is (label) unable to speak; lacking power of speech.

As a verb dumb

is to silence.

As a noun fin is

finn.

dumb

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) dumb, from (etyl) . In ordinary spoken English, a phrase like "He is dumb" is interpreted as "He is stupid" rather than "He lacks the power of speech". The latter example, however, is the original sense of the word. The senses of stupid'', ''unintellectual'', and ''pointless developed under the influence of the (etyl) word dumm.

Adjective

(er)
  • (label) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech.
  • * Hooker
    • to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures
  • (label) Silent; unaccompanied by words.
    • dumb show
  • * Shakespeare
    • This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.
  • *
  • * J. C. Shairp
    • to pierce into the dumb past
  • extremely stupid.
    • You are so dumb ! You don't even know how to make toast!
  • (label) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.
    • This is dumb ! We're driving in circles! We should have asked for directions an hour ago!
    Brendan had the dumb job of moving boxes from one conveyor belt to another.
  • Lacking brightness or clearness, as a colour.
  • * De Foe
    • Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color.
    Synonyms
    * (unable to speak) dumbstruck, mute, speechless, wordless * (stupid) feeble-minded, idiotic, moronic, stupid * banal, brainless, dopey, silly, stupid, ridiculous, vulgar
    Derived terms
    * dumb as a box of rocks * dumben * dumbhood * dummy * dumbness

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) dumbien, from (etyl) dumbian (more commonly in compound .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To silence.
  • * 1911 , Lindsay Swift, William Lloyd Garrison , p. 272,
    • The paralysis of the Northern conscience, the dumbing of the Northern voice, were coming to an end.
  • To make stupid.
  • * 2003 , Angela Calabrese Barton, Teaching Science for Social Justice , p. 124,
    • I think she's dumbing us down, so we won't be smarter than her.
  • To represent as stupid.
  • * 2004 , Stephen Oppenheimer, The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa , p. 107,
    • Bad-mouthing Neanderthals . . . is symptomatic of a need to exclude and even demonize. . . . I suggest that the unproven dumbing of the Neanderthals is an example of the same cultural preconception.
  • To reduce the intellectual demands of.
  • * 2002 , Deborah Meier, In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing , p. 126,
    • The ensuing storm caused the department to lower the bar—amid protests that this was dumbing the test down—so that only 80 percent of urban kids would fail.
    Derived terms
    * dumbness * dumb blonde * dumb down * dumbocracy * dumb-show * dumb terminal * dummy * play dumb

    fin

    English

    (wikipedia fin)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (ichthyology) One of the appendages of a fish, used to propel itself and to manoeuvre/maneuver.
  • * , chapter=4
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.}}
  • A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal.
  • A thin, rigid component of an aircraft, extending from the fuselage and used to stabilise and steer the aircraft.
  • A similar structure on the tail of a bomb, used to help keep it on course.
  • A hairstyle, resembling the fin of a fish, in which the hair is combed and set into a vertical ridge along the top of the head from about the crown to the forehead.
  • A device worn by divers and swimmers on their feet.
  • An extending part on a surface of a radiator, engine, heatsink, etc., used to facilitate cooling.
  • A sharp raised edge (generally in concrete) capable of damaging a roof membrane or vapor retarder.
    • Synonyms
    * (appendange of a fish) * (appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal) flipper (of mammals) * (aircraft component) * (of a bomb) vane * (hairstyle) Mohican * (device worn by divers) flipper
    Derived terms
    * anal fin * caudal fin * dorsal fin * finning * paired fins * pectoral fin * pelvic fin * tail fin * unpaired fins

    Verb

  • (senseid)To cut the fins from a fish, shark, etc.
  • To swim in the manner of a fish.
    • A neutrally buoyant diver does not need to fin to maintain depth.
  • To provide (a motor vehicle etc) with fins.

    • External links

    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, slang) A five-dollar bill.
    • Synonyms
    * (five-dollar bill) fiver, Lincoln

    Anagrams

    * (l) English three-letter words ----