Dull, adj.
I. Uninteresting, monotonous, boring; e. g. a dull
book, a dull film.
II. Slow in understanding, stupid; e. g. a dull student.
III. Not clear or bright; e. g. dull weather, a dull day, a dull colour.
IV. Not loud or distinct; e. g. a dull sound. V. Not sharp; e. g. a dull knife.
VI. Not active; e. g. Trade is dull. VII. Seeing badly; e. g. dull eyes (arch.). VIII, Hearing badly; e. g. dull ears (arch.),
Yet, one distinctly feels that there is something that all these seemingly miscellaneous meanings have in
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common, and that is the implication of deficiency, be it of colour (m. III), wits (m. II), interest (m. I), sharpness (m. V), etc. The implication of insufficient quality, of something lacking, can be clearly distinguished in each separate meaning.
In fact, each meaning definition in the given scheme can be subjected to a transformational operation to prove the point.
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