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Glite Dictionary
deaf-mute

deaf-mute

5 9.9
An old, offensive term for a person who cannot hear or speak
  • noun
  • /dɛf-mjut/
  • Slur
translation icon : [DESPECTIVO] sordomudo
  • The deaf-mute man used sign language to communicate with his friends.
  • deaf-mute artist

Examples

  • One of these five persons is a deaf mute, John Singer, and it is around him that the whole book pivots.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • In our family, there were six deaf-mutes—three boys and three girls.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • In the painting workshop, deaf-mute artists continue to work.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Well Ben, I've never met a deaf-mute before.

    High Hopes (2006)

  • A group of children surrounded an old deaf-mute woman who was using her fingers to bargain with an egg vendor.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Notably, the painting workshop employed deaf-mute artists who had graduated from what was then the Fine Arts School (FAS), founded in the late 1950s.

    Academic text (2009)

  • At the community center, the deaf-mute child discovered a talent for painting.

  • The deaf-mute woman participated in the conversation through gestures and written notes.

Surface Forms

deaf-mute singular
deaf-mutes plural

Morphology

deaf-mute = deaf + mute (transparent) = deaf + mute

The meaning is directly built from the adjectives 'deaf' + 'mute' and is readily derivable by learners who know those words, though the compound is now considered outdated/offensive.

Etymology

Deaf-mute is made from deaf ('unable to hear') and mute ('unable to speak'), so it originally meant a person who could neither hear nor talk. Today this term is considered outdated and offensive, so people now say 'deaf' or 'a person who is deaf' and use respectful language instead.