obtund, v.
(əbˈtʌnd)
[ad. L. obtund-ĕre to beat against, blunt, dull, f. ob- (ob- 1 b) + tundĕre to beat. Cf. obs. F. obtondre, -tundre (a 1500 in Godef.).]
trans. To blunt, deaden, dull, deprive of sharpness or vigour, render obtuse (the senses or faculties, physical qualities of things, etc.). Chiefly in medical use.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 83 Colde þingis whiche..obtunden or casten bach þe scharpnes of þe same vlcus. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. Pref. in Ashm. (1652) 121 Whose Luminos Bemes obtundyth our speculation. 1620 Venner Via Recta viii. 164 Nothing..doth so greatly obtunde and weaken the natiue heate..as a fastidious fulnesse of the stomacke. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 347 This passage, if there had been any force in the former, does quite obtund it. 1710 T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. 36 Crayfish, Crabs and Lobsters..obtund the acidity of Vinegar it self. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 78 ¶4 No man can at pleasure obtund or invigorate his senses. a 1836 D. M'Nicoll Inquiry Stage Wks. (1837) 120 The moral sensibility of the character is..obtunded. 1872 Cohen Dis. Throat 271 The sense of smell is obtunded. |
† b. To deafen, din (the ears). Obs. rare.
| 1645 [see obtunding below]. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. (1737) 231 I'll not too many Verbs effund, Nor with our Ills your Auricles obtund. |
Hence obˈtunding ppl. a., deadening, deafening.
| 1645 Milton Colast. Wks. (1851) 363 John-a-Noaks and John-a-Stiles..have fill'd our Law-books with the obtunding story of their suits and trials. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. iii. 85 The Heart-burn..is rather to be corrected with obtunding and alterative Medicines. 1895 Scotsman 11/6 Obtunding or anaesthetic properties. |