dim

See also: Dim, dim., dím, dìm, dım, дим, Дим, and дім

Translingual

Etymology 1

Clipping of English Dime.

Symbol

dim

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Dime.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Dime terms

Etymology 2

Clipping of English dimension.

Symbol

dim

1. (mathematics) dimension

Etymology 3

Clipping of English diminished.

Symbol

dim

1. (music, popular music notation) diminished chord

   A C^dim chord is composed of C–E^♭-G^♭.

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: dĭm, IPA^(key): /dɪm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪm

Etymology 1

From Middle English dim, dym, from Old English dim, dimm (“dim, dark, gloomy; wretched, grievous, sad, unhappy”), from Proto-West Germanic *dimm, from Proto-Germanic *dimmaz (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰem- (“to whisk, smoke; obscure”). Compare Faroese dimmur (“dark”), Icelandic dimmur (“dark”) and dimma (“darkness”).

Adjective

dim (comparative dimmer, superlative dimmest)

1. Not bright or colorful.

   Synonyms: dull, dingy; see also Thesaurus:dim

   The lighting was too dim for me to make out his facial features.

   • 1821, Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, […], Pisa, Italy: […] Didot; reprinted London: Noel Douglas […], 1927, →OCLC:

     that sustaining Love / Which, through the web of being blindly wove / By man and beast and earth and air and sea, / Burns bright or dim

2. (colloquial) Not smart or intelligent.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stupid

   He may be a bit dim, but he's not entirely stupid.

3. Indistinct, hazy or unclear.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:indistinct

   His vision grew dimmer as he aged.

4. Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of.

   Synonyms: deprecative, improbatory, reprobative, reprobatory

Synonyms

• dusk

Derived terms

• dim and distant
• dimbo
• dim bulb
• dim-headed
• dim-lit
• dimly
• dimmish
• dimmity
• dimmy
• dim-sighted
• dimsome
• dimwit
• dim-witted → dim-wittedness
• nice-but-dim

Translations

not bright, not colourful

• Azerbaijani: tutqun (az)
• Bulgarian: мътен (bg) (mǎten)
• Catalan: tènue (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 昏 (zh) (hūn), 昏暗 (zh) (hūn'àn), 暗淡 (zh) (àndàn)

• Czech: tmavý (cs), mdlý (cs)
• Dutch: donker (nl), schemerachtig (nl), schemerig (nl), mat (nl)
• Finnish: himmeä (fi)
• French: tamisé (fr), faible (fr)
• German: dämmerig, schummrig (de)
• Greek: σκοτεινός (el) m (skoteinós), αχνός (el) m (achnós), αμυδρός (el) m (amydrós)

  Ancient: ἀμαυρός (amaurós)

• Hebrew: כהה (he) (kehe)
• Hungarian: fénytelen (hu), színtelen (hu), opálos (hu)
• Italian: debole (it), fioco (it) m, fioca (it) f, oscuro (it) m, oscura (it) f
• Japanese: 薄暗い (ja) (うすぐらい, usugurai), 仄暗い (ja) (ほのぐらい, honogurai)
• Latin: fuscus (la), creper
• Latvian: blāvs
• Lithuanian: blausùs
• Macedonian: те́мен (témen), ма́тен (máten)
• Maori: pongipongi, rokuroku, kaurehu
• Norwegian: dim (no) m or f, dimt n, dimme pl
• Plautdietsch: dunkel
• Polish: ciemny (pl), przyćmiony, ciemnawy, przytępiony
• Portuguese: opaco (pt), sombrio (pt), mortiço (pt)
• Romanian: tern (ro) m or n
• Russian: ту́склый (ru) (túsklyj)
• Spanish: tenue (es)
• Telugu: మసక (te) (masaka)
• Thai: มัว (th) (muua)
• Ukrainian: тьмя́ний (tʹmjányj)
• Vietnamese: mờ (vi)

not smart

• Catalan: ximple (ca) m, beneit (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遲鈍 / 迟钝 (zh) (chídùn)

• Dutch: dom (nl)
• French: bête (fr)
• German: dämlich (de)
• Greek: κουτός (el) m (koutós)
• Hungarian: sötét (hu)
• Italian: tonto (it) m, tonta (it) f
• Lithuanian: tamsùs
• Macedonian: тап (tap), та́поглав (tápoglav)
• Maori: pōrewarewa, pōrewharewha
• Occitan: pèc (oc), bèsti
• Polish: ciemny (pl), tępy (pl)
• Portuguese: besta (pt), obtuso (pt)
• Russian: тупо́й (ru) (tupój)
• Spanish: tonto (es)

indistinct

• Bulgarian: неясен (bg) (nejasen), замъглен (bg) (zamǎglen)
• Catalan: indistint m, borrós m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 模糊 (zh) (móhú)

• Dutch: vaag (nl)
• French: flou (fr), indistinct (fr)
• Greek: αμυδρός (el) m (amydrós), δυσδιάκριτος (el) m (dysdiákritos)
• Hungarian: homályos (hu), elmosódott (hu), ködbe vesző (due to foggy surroundings)
• Italian: indistinto (it) m, indistinta (it) f
• Japanese: 朧気 (oboroge)
• Khiamniungan Naga: tǖsīesīe
• Macedonian: не́јасен (néjasen), за́маглен (zámaglen)
• Occitan: indistint
• Polish: niewyraźny (pl), niejasny (pl)
• Portuguese: indistinto (pt)
• Romanian: vag (ro) m or n
• Russian: сму́тный (ru) (smútnyj), нея́сный (ru) (nejásnyj)
• Spanish: tenue (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 희미한 (huimihan)

Noun

dim (uncountable)

1. (archaic) Dimness.
   • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 278:

     All about me the Red Weed clambered among the ruins, writhing to get above me in the dim. Night, the Mother of Fear and Mystery, was coming upon me.

Verb

dim (third-person singular simple present dims, present participle dimming, simple past and past participle dimmed)

1. (transitive) To make something less bright.

   He dimmed the lights and put on soft music.

2. (intransitive) To become darker.

   The lights dimmed briefly when the air conditioning was turned on.

3. To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct.
   • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:

     a king among his courtiers, […] who out to dim the lustre of all his attendants

   • 1791, Homer, “[The Odyssey.] Book II.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume II, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 42, line 501:

     Now ſet the ſun, and twilight dimm'd the ways, […]

4. To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of.
   • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

     And with our Sun-bright armour as we march,
     Weel chaſe the Starrs from heauen, and dim their eies
     That ſtand and muſe at our admyred armes.

   • 1740, Christopher Pitt, The Aeneid:

     Her starry eyes were dimm'd with streaming tears.

6. (figurative) To diminish, dull, or curtail.

   All these setbacks had started to dim the hopes of the students.

   Nothing will dim their spirit of resilience.

   A glut might dim the outlook for grain futures.

Derived terms

• autodimming
• bedim
• dimmable
• dimmer (noun)
• dim out
• fordim
• nondimmable
• undimmable
• undimmed
• undimming

Translations

to make something less bright

• Bulgarian: помътнявам (bg) (pomǎtnjavam)
• Dutch: verduisteren (nl), dimmen (nl), afblinden
• Finnish: himmentää (fi)
• Galician: esvaecer (gl), atenuar (gl)
• German: verdunkeln (de), dimmen (de)
• Greek: θαμπώνω (el) (thampóno), θολώνω (el) (tholóno)
• Irish: ísligh
• Italian: abbassare (it), affievolire (it), offuscare (it), annebbiare (it), annerire (it)
• Macedonian: по́мати (pómati), за́темни (zátemni)
• Maori: whakakaurehu, whakauriuri
• Polish: ściemniać (pl) impf, przyciemniać impf, omroczyć pf, zaćmić (pl) pf, zaciemniać (pl) impf, zaciemnić (pl) pf
• Portuguese: ofuscar (pt)
• Russian: затемнять (ru) (zatemnjatʹ)
• Spanish: atenuar (es), dimear (United States), extenuar (es), ofuscar (es), infuscar (es) (p. us.)
• Tamil: மங்கலான (maṅkalāṉa)

to become darker

• Bulgarian: потъмнявам (bg) (potǎmnjavam)
• Galician: escurecer (gl)
• Irish: ísligh
• Italian: affievolirsi (it)
• Macedonian: за́темни (zátemni), по́темни (pótemni)
• Maori: parewaikohu, whakauriuri
• Polish: ciemnieć (pl) impf, ćmić (pl) impf, mrocznieć impf, mierzchnąć impf
• Portuguese: escurecer (pt)
• Russian: тускнеть (ru) (tusknetʹ)
• Ukrainian: тьмяні́ти impf (tʹmjaníty), потьмяні́ти pf (potʹmjaníty)
• Vietnamese: nhòa (vi)

See also

• dim mak (etymologically unrelated)
• dim sum (etymologically unrelated)

Etymology 2

Adjective

dim (not comparable)

2. (music) Clipping of diminished.

See also

• dim. (diminuendo)

Anagrams

• IMD, IDM, Mid., MID, mid, 'mid, mid-, DMI, MDI, IM'd

Galician

Verb

dim

1. (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of dizer

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɪm]
• Hyphenation: dim

Etymology 1

From Dutch duim.

Noun

dim (plural dim-dim)

1. thumb
2. inch

   Synonym: inci

Etymology 2

From English dimmer.

Noun

dim (plural dim-dim)

1. high-beam headlamp on a road vehicle

Further reading

• “dim”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Kashubian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós

Proto-Balto-Slavic *dū́ˀmas

Proto-Slavic *dymъ

Kashubian dim

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dymъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdim/
• Rhymes: -im
• Syllabification: dim

Noun

dim m inan

1. smoke

Further reading

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “dym”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• “dim”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Latvian

Verb

dim

1. third-person singular/plural present indicative of dimēt
2. (with the particle lai) third-person singular imperative of dimēt
3. (with the particle lai) third-person plural imperative of dimēt

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse dimmr. Related to English dim and Icelandic dimmur.

Adjective

dim (neuter singular dimt, definite singular and plural dimme, comparative dimmere, indefinite superlative dimmest, definite superlative dimmeste)

1. dim
2. to have bad vision

   Han er dim på synet

   His vision is dim/bad/poor

References

• “dim” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From the Old Norse adjective dimmr, from Proto-Germanic *dimmaz. The neuter noun is derived from the adjective. The automotive senses may be a Back-formation from of the verb dimme.

Adjective

dim (neuter singular dimt, definite singular and plural dimme, comparative dimmare, indefinite superlative dimmast, definite superlative dimmaste)

1. gloomy
2. dim
3. having bad vision

   Han er dim på synet

   His vision is dim/bad/poor

Related terms

• dimma, dimme (verb)

Noun

dim m (definite singular dimmen, indefinite plural dimmar, definite plural dimmane)

1. (automotive, colloquial) a switching of one's headlamps from high-beam to low-beam
2. (automotive, colloquial) lever, button or other
3. (dialectal) clipping of dimme (“twilight, half darkness”)

Noun

dim n (definite singular dimmet, uncountable)

1. (dialectal) dimmest, darkest part of the summer night
2. (dialectal) twilight

   Synonym: skumring

Etymology 2

Noun

dim m (definite singular dimmen, indefinite plural dimmar, definite plural dimmane)

1. (colloquial) clipping of dimensjon

References

• “dim” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• mid-

Old English

Adjective

dim

1. alternative form of dimm

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós

Proto-Balto-Slavic *dū́ˀmas

Proto-Slavic *dymъ

Serbo-Croatian dim

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dymъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dîm/

Noun

dȉm m inan (Cyrillic spelling ди̏м)

1. smoke

Declension

Declension of dim

	singular	plural
nominative	dim	dimovi
genitive	dima	dimova
dative	dimu	dimovima
accusative	dim	dimove
vocative	dime	dimovi
locative	dimu	dimovima
instrumental	dimom	dimovima

Derived terms

• dimni signal

Further reading

• “dim”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Slovene

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós

Proto-Balto-Slavic *dū́ˀmas

Proto-Slavic *dymъ

Slovene dim

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dymъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dím/

Noun

dȉm m inan

1. smoke

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nominative	dìm
genitive	díma
	singular
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	dìm
genitive (rodȋlnik)	díma
dative (dajȃlnik)	dímu
accusative (tožȋlnik)	dìm
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	dímu
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	dímom

Further reading

• “dim”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Sumerian

Romanization

dim

1. romanization of 𒁴 (dim)

Sundanese

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch duim.

Noun

dim

1. inch

References

• Coolsma, S (1913), Soendaneesch-Hollandsch Woordenboek (in Dutch), Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff's Uitgeversmaatschappij

Talysh

Noun

dim

1. face

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh dim, cognate with the rare Old Irish dim (“something, anything”) (which may be a Brythonic loanword), with further etymology uncertain. Matasović derives the word from Proto-Celtic *dis-smi-, dissimilated from Proto-Indo-European *dus-smi- (literally “bad one”). Alternatively, Morris-Jones hypothesizes the original meaning was “share, portion” and derives the word from Proto-Celtic *dīsman, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to share”).

Development of the particle sense (“not”) is an instance of Jespersen's Cycle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪm/
• Rhymes: -ɪm

Adjective

dim

1. any
2. no, not, none

Pronoun

dim

1. (in negative phrases) nothing, anything

   Synonym: dim byd

2. none, nil, zero

Derived terms

• dim byd (“nothing”)
• dim ond (“only”)
• da i ddim (“good for nothing, useless”)
• dim o beth (“pipsqueak, knee-high to a grasshopper”)

Related terms

• be', beth (“what”)
• pob dim, popeth (“everything”)
• rhywbeth (“something”)
• unrhyw beth (“anything”)

Particle

dim

1. not

Usage notes

As a verbal particle, almost always appears mutated as ddim.

Synonyms

• ni (“not”) (literary)

Mutation

Mutated forms of dim

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
dim	ddim	nim	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “dim”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies