Extremely bright, impressive, or beautiful in a way that overwhelms the senses or mind.
From Middle English 'dasen' meaning 'to become dazed', possibly from Old Norse 'dasask' meaning 'to become weary'. The intensive form developed in the 15th century, connecting temporary blindness from bright light to overwhelming impressiveness.
Dazzling originally described the temporary blindness caused by bright light—a literal inability to see clearly. We still use this physical experience as a metaphor for being overwhelmed by beauty or brilliance, showing how vision-based metaphors dominate our language of amazement.
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