numbness

numb  (nm)

adj. numb·er, numb·est

1. Deprived of the power to feel or move normally; benumbed: toes numb with cold; too numb with fear to cry out.

2. Emotionally unresponsive; indifferent: numb to yet another appeal.

tr. & intr.v. numbed, numb·ing, numbs

To make or become numb.

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[Middle English nome, variant of nomin, past participle of nimen, to seize, from Old English niman; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]

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numbly adv.

numbness n.

Word History: Old English had a number of strong verbs (often loosely called "irregular" verbs) that did not survive into Modern English. One such was the verb niman, "to take," later replaced by take, a borrowing from Old Norse. The verb had a past tense nam and a past participle numen; if the verb had survived, it would likely have become nim, nam, num, like swim, swam, swum. Although we do not have the verb as such anymore, its past participle is alive and well, now spelled numb, literally "taken, seized," as by cold or grief. (The older spelling without the b is still seen in the compound numskull.) The verb also lives on indirectly in the word nimble, which used to mean "quick to take," and then later "light, quick on one's feet."

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	numbness - partial or total lack of sensation in a part of the body; a symptom of nerve damage or dysfunction symptom - (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease
	2.	numbness - the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally spiritlessness, apathy, indifference passivity, passiveness - the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative

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numbness

noun

1. deadness, paralysis, insensitivity, dullness, torpor, insensibility I have recently been suffering from numbness in my fingers and toes.

2. deadness, dullness, torpor, stupefaction She swung from emotional numbness to overwhelming fear and back again.

Translations

numbness [ˈnʌmnɪs] N

1. (lit) I had a feeling of numbness in my legs → se me habían dormido las piernas; (from cold) → tenía las piernas entumecidas

2. (fig) (from grief, fear, shock) → atontamiento m
a feeling of numbness overcame me → me quedé atontado

numbness [ˈnʌmnɪs] n

(physical) → engourdissement m

(emotional) → paralysie f

numbness

n (of limbs etc) → Taubheit f, → Starre f; (fig: of mind, senses) → Benommenheit f, → Betäubung f

numbness [ˈnʌmnɪs] n → intorpidimento; (due to cold) → intirizzimento