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κουφός

deaf /kuˈfos/

adjectiveC1#3994 most common

Also: muffled (of a sound), dull-sounding

Example sentences

Ο παππούς μου είναι κουφός.
My grandfather is deaf.
Η γιαγιά μου είναι λίγο κουφή.
My grandmother is a bit deaf.
Μίλα πιο δυνατά, ο θείος είναι κουφός.
Speak louder, uncle is deaf.
Κάνει τον κουφό όταν του ζητάω να βοηθήσει.
He plays deaf whenever I ask him to help.
Ακούστηκε ένας κουφός θόρυβος από το υπόγειο.
A muffled noise came from the basement.
Παρά τις επανειλημμένες προειδοποιήσεις, οι αρχές έμειναν κουφές στις εκκλήσεις των κατοίκων.
Despite repeated warnings, the authorities stayed deaf to the residents' pleas.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeκουφόςκουφοί
Genitiveκουφούκουφών
Accusativeκουφόκουφούς
Vocativeκουφέκουφοί

Word family

κωφόςdeaf (formal register, used in official or medical speech)
κουφαίνωto deafen, to make someone deaf
κουφαμάραdeafness
κωφάλαλοςdeaf-mute

Etymology

Κουφός comes from Ancient Greek κωφός, meaning deaf, mute, or blunted. Linguists have not traced it to a secure Indo-European root, and some treat it as a pre-Greek word borrowed before the arrival of Greek speakers. Over time the meaning narrowed mostly to hearing loss, while a secondary sense, a dull or muffled sound, survived from the old idea of blunted perception.

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