Middle English Dictionary Entry

dullen v.
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Entry Info

Forms dullen v. Also dollen. P.ppl. dold, dolte, i)dulled, dulte, (comp.) dullidar.
Etymology From dul .

Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)

1.
(a) To make (sth.) blunt, dull (an edge, a nail, a tool); intr. become blunt or dull; (b) to moderate (sth.), mitigate; (c) to make (sth.) of no effect, nullify.
Show 11 Quotations
2.
(a) To mull (wine, ale), warm gently; (b) ppl. dulled, insipid, flat; (c) ppl. dulled, ?boiled down.
Show 5 Quotations
3.
(a) To dull the keenness of (a faculty or appetite), dim (the eyesight), stupefy (the mind), weaken (lust); make (sb.) dull-witted or stupid; intr. become dull or dazed, become stupid; (b) to deprive (the body or a member) of sensation, benumb; stun (a person), deaden (feeling); also fig.; ppl. dulling, benumbing, narcotic; (c) to make (sb.) slack, negligent, or inactive; intr. be or become negligent or inactive, grow faint.
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4.
(a) To satiate or bore (sb.); intr. be satiated or bored (with sth.), become tired or weary (of sth.); -- with of phrase or inf.; (b) to distress (sb.), vex, annoy; intr. be troubled or distressed.
Show 12 Quotations
5.
Ppl. as surname.
Show 1 Quotation

Supplemental Materials (draft)

  • ?c1400 PPl.Z (Bod 851)4.124 : Waren Wysdom ant Wyttys ys fere Cowthe nat warpe a tho to wythsegge Resoun, But stoden stylle as stuty hors that dolleth.
    • Note: Antedates sense 3.(c).
    Note: Gloss: to grow tired or sluggish.--notes per MLL

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