dull: [13] Dull originally meant ‘slow-witted’. It was borrowed from Middle Low German dul, a descendant of the prehistoric Germanic adjective *dulaz, which also produced German toll and Old English dol ‘stupid’ (the Old English adjective does not seem to have survived beyond the 10th century). The modern meaning ‘boring’ developed in the 15th century. The now littleused dullard [15] is a derivative (reflecting the adjective’s original sense), as also is probably dolt [16]. => dolt
dull (adj.)
c. 1200, "stupid;" early 13c., "blunt, not sharp;" rare before mid-14c., apparently from Old English dol "dull-witted, foolish," or an unrecorded parallel word, or from Middle Low German dul "slow-witted," both from Proto-Germanic *dulaz (cognates: Old Frisian and Old Saxon dol "foolish," Old High German tol, German toll "mad, wild," Gothic dwals "foolish"), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits"). Of color from early 15c.; of pain or other sensations from 1725. Sense of "boring" first recorded 1580s.
dull. (8) Not exhilarating; not delightful; as to make dictionaries is dull work. [Johnson]
Dullsville, slang for "town where nothing happens," attested from 1960.
dull (v.)
c. 1200, "to grow weary, tire;" of pointed or edged things from c. 1400; of the senses from 1550s; from dull (adj.). Related: Dulled; dulling.
雙語例句
1. The evidence was read out to the court in a dull monotone.
證據(jù)被當(dāng)庭呆板地宣讀了一遍。
來自柯林斯例句
2. I found the characters very two-dimensional, not to say dull.
我覺得那些人物形象即使不說是乏味無聊，至少也是毫無深度。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Broadcast news was accurate and reliable but deadly dull.
新聞廣播準確可靠但卻非常枯燥。
來自柯林斯例句
4. He is a dull writer and that's a fact.
他寫的東西很沒意思，真的。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Not being a mother, I found the chit-chat exceedingly dull.