Deaf"-mute` (?), n.
A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it.
[See Illust. of
Dactylology.]
Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.
© Webster 1913.