See also: do of

English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From doofus, or alternatively from Scots, which uses the word with the same meaning. Scots doof is derived from Low German doof (deaf).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /duːf/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -uːf

Noun edit

doof (plural doofs)

  1. (US, slang) A simpleton.

Etymology 2 edit

Onomatopoeic, from the sound of a bass drum.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

doof (countable and uncountable, plural doofs)

  1. (Australia, slang, uncountable) A type of music with pronounced bass, typically associated with the modified car scene.
  2. (Australia) An outdoor dance party, held in bushland in a remote area or on the outskirts of a city.
    • 2004, Graham St John, editor, Rave Culture and Religion, page 138:
      Dynamics of play and creativity are a prominent catalyst of social relations at both doofs and raves.
    • 2006, Christopher Hugh Partridge, The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture, volume 2, page 110:
      Similar themes emerged in the ‘doofs’ of Australian rave culture.
    • 2007, Australian National University Dept of Pacific and Southeast Asian History, Aboriginal History, Volume 31, page 76,
      The bush doof is a unique product of post-rave culture and is particularly suited to the expansive Australian landscape.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
See also edit

Anagrams edit

Afrikaans edit

Etymology edit

From Dutch doof.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

doof (attributive dowe, comparative dower, superlative doofste)

  1. deaf

Dutch edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle Dutch dôof, from Old Dutch dōf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub, from Proto-Germanic *daubaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (to whisk, be obscured).

Adjective edit

doof (comparative dover, superlative doofst)

  1. deaf
Inflection edit
Inflection of doof
uninflected doof
inflected dove
comparative dover
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial doof dover het doofst
het doofste
indefinite m./f. sing. dove dovere doofste
n. sing. doof dover doofste
plural dove dovere doofste
definite dove dovere doofste
partitive doofs dovers
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
  • Afrikaans: doof
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: dofu
  • Negerhollands: doof
  • Papiamentu: dof
  • Sranan Tongo: dofu

Etymology 2 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb edit

doof

  1. inflection of doven:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

German edit

Etymology edit

From German Low German doof (deaf), from Middle Low German dôf, from Old Saxon dof, from Proto-West Germanic *daub. Cognate to Upper German taub.

Pronunciation edit

  • Inflected forms: IPA(key): /doːv-/ (predominantly)
  • Inflected forms: IPA(key): /doːf-/ (some speakers in southern Germany and Austria)

Adjective edit

doof (strong nominative masculine singular doofer, comparative doofer or döfer or (nonstandard) dööfer, superlative am doofsten or am döfsten or (nonstandard) am dööfsten)

  1. (informal) stupid, dumb
  2. (informal) boring, annoying

Usage notes edit

  • Low German regularly changes its final obstruent f to v or w (IPA: [v]) when a vowel follows: en doof Mann → einen doven Mann. This sound-change is usually kept in standard German pronunciation, although the forms are always spelt with f. (For more words in which written f may be pronounced [v] compare Elfer, Fünfer, and schief.)
  • The alternative comparation forms dööfer, am dööfsten are not officially standard and are sometimes frowned upon.

Declension edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

  • doof” in Duden online
  • doof” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

German Low German edit

Alternative forms edit

  • dow
  • dof (inflected dow-)
  • (inflected doow-)

Etymology edit

From Middle Low German dōf and Old Saxon dōf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub. Cognate with English deaf.

The second meaning stems from the old misconception that dumb or deaf people were mentally disabled.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

doof (comparative döver, superlative döövst)

  1. deaf, dumb (unable to speak)
  2. stupid, dumb (not clever)

Declension edit

Descendants edit

Middle Dutch edit

Etymology edit

From Old Dutch *dōf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub.

Adjective edit

dôof

  1. deaf
  2. without feeling, harsh
  3. crazy, foolish
  4. useless
  5. dull, not shining
  6. dull, not giving sound
  7. dead, having died off, dry (of plants)

Inflection edit

Adjective
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative Indefinite dôof dôve dôof dôve
Definite dôve dôve
Accusative Indefinite dôven dôve dôof dôve
Definite dôve
Genitive dôofs dôver dôofs dôver
Dative dôven dôver dôven dôven

Alternative forms edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

Further reading edit

Plautdietsch edit

Etymology edit

From Middle Low German and Old Saxon dōf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub.

Adjective edit

doof

  1. deaf

Saterland Frisian edit

Etymology edit

From Old Frisian dāf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub. Cognates include West Frisian dôf and German taub.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

doof (masculine doven, feminine, plural or definite dove, comparative dover, superlative doofst)

  1. deaf

References edit

  • Marron C. Fort (2015), “doof”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN