deaf-mute

American  

[def-myoot] / ˈdɛfˈmyut /

adjective

1. unable to hear and speak.

---

noun

1. a person who is unable to hear and speak, especially one in whom inability to speak is due to congenital or early deafness.

deaf-mute British  

noun

1. a person who is unable to hear or speak See also mute 1 mutism

---

adjective

1. unable to hear or speak

Sensitive Note

See dumb.

Usage

Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive, and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts

Other Word Forms

• deaf-muteness
  noun
• deaf-mutism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of deaf-mute

First recorded in 1830–40; translation of French sourd-muet

Example Sentences

Deaf mute signs: The French deaf-mute conception is that of gently falling or sinking, the right index falling from the height of the right shoulder upon the left forefinger, toward which the head is inclined.

From Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-1880, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 263-552 by Mallery, Garrick