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.
例文
1. The evidence was read out to the court in a dul monotone.
証拠は法廷でぼんやり読み上げられた。
2.I found the characters very two-dimensional,not to say dul .
それらの人物像は退屈とは言わなくても、少なくとも奥行きがないと思います。
3.Broadcast news was accurate and reliable but deadly dull .
ニュース放送は正確で信頼できるが、非常に退屈である。
4.He is a dull writer and that 's a fact.
彼が書いたものは面白くない、本当だ。
5.Not being a mother，I found the chit-chat exceedingly dul .