† numbyadj.
Obsolete. rare.
Numbed; somewhat numb; deadened.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > [adjective] > rendered physically insensible > somewhat
deadish1562
numby1603
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xvii. 373 My hands are so stiffe and nummie, that I can hardly write for my selfe.
a1780 P. Pott Chirurg. Wks. (1790) III. 430 His legs and thighs were cold, and what he called nummy.
a1820 J. Woodhouse Life Crispinus Scriblerus xii. in Life & Poet. Wks. (1896) I. 225 But should the numby nerves withstand the shock, And still continue, like a brother block, The Organ blows again a brisker blast.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 66 Num, numby, clumsy, benumbed by frost.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1603