deafen, v.
(ˈdɛf(ə)n)
Also 7 deaffen.
[f. deaf a.: see -en5. A later synonym of prec.]
1. trans. To make deaf, to deprive of the power of hearing; to stun with noise. Also fig.
| 1597 [see deafening ppl. a. 1]. 1611 Cotgr., Assourdir, to deafen, or make deafe. 1634 Habington Castara (Arb.) 79 We beginne To live in silence, when the noyse oth' Bench Not deafens Westminster. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. 1 Jan., Hunting horns..that almost deafen the Company. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 269 Racine left the ground..deafened, dazzled, and tired to death. |
2. To render (a sound) inaudible; to drown by a louder sound.
| 1823 Chalmers Serm. I. v. 126 With whom the Voice of God is therefore deafened by the voice and testimony of men. 1827 Cooper Prairie I. vii. 102, I tarried till the mouths of my hounds were deafened by the blows of the chopper. |
3. Building. To make (a floor or partition) impervious to sound by means of pugging. Hence ˈdeafening vbl. n., material used for this purpose, pugging: deafening-board, a board fixed between floor-joints to prevent sound from passing through the floor.
| c 1814 T. Somerville Life (1861) 337 Few of the floors were deafened or plastered. 1839 M. Lafever Mod. Archit. 111 Strips nailed on the sides of the beams, to support the deafening board. 1864 Glasgow Herald 9 Apr., The heavy load of earth which has been put in for deafening. |
† 4. intr. To become deaf. Obs. rare.
| 1680 [see deafening 2]. |
Hence ˈdeafened ppl. a.
| 1608 Shakes. Per. v. i. 47 She..with her sweet harmonie..would..make a battrie through his deafend parts. 1678 Dryden & Lee Œdipus ii. Wks. (1883) VI. 172 Methinks my deafened ears Are burst. |