| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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6. Names and Labels: Social, Racial, and Ethnic Terms
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| § 23. deaf and dumb |
| Deaf and dumb has a long history in English, the earliest citation in The Oxford English Dictionary occurring in 1225 and in reverse order—"dumbe & deaf.” The dumb in deaf and dumb does not, of course, mean “lacking intelligence” but rather “incapable of speech,” but even when this point is clear the expression is offensive in any but a historical or figurative context. | 1 |
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dumb. | 2 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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