Etymograph

English

doof

Doof comes from Low German doof ‘deaf’, from Proto-West Germanic *daub ‘stunned’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to whisk, be obscured’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-1‘to whisk, be obscured’disputed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daubaz2‘stunned’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daub3‘stunned’reconstructed
  4. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600dōf3
  5. Low Germanmoderndoof4‘deaf’
  6. Englishtodaydoof4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *daubaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *daub
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Low German doof
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English doof

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *daubaz‘to whisk, be obscured’disputed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daubazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *daub‘stunned’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daubWiktionary, Low German doof‘stunned’reconstructed
  4. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600dōfWiktionary, Low German doof
  5. Low GermanmoderndoofWiktionary, English doof‘deaf’
  6. EnglishtodaydoofWiktionary, English doof

The story

From doofus, or alternatively from Scots, which uses the word with the same meaning.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Scots doof is derived from Low German doof (‘deaf’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to whisk, be obscured’

deep, bottom, fund, foundation, depth, dumb, founder, dip, fond, bot, dub, bourne, dove, butte, typhus, 22 more

through Proto-Germanic *daubaz ‘stunned’

deafness, 2 more

through Proto-West Germanic *daub ‘stunned’

dave, deaf, 1 more

Today it means

noun A simpleton.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “doof”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *daubaz, Proto-West Germanic *daub, Low German doof. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- / doof

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