to make someone or something dumb, silent, or unable to speak; to stupefy or render speechless.
From be- (causative prefix) + dumb (from Old English dumb and Old High German dumb, originally meaning 'unable to speak'). The verb form means to cause someone to become dumb or silent.
The word 'dumb' originally just meant 'unable to speak' (like 'deaf-mute'), but over time people started using it to mean 'stupid'—showing how words can shift meaning when they're not used as literally anymore.
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