retund

English

Etymology

From Latin retundere, retusum, from re- (“re-”) + tundere (“to beat”).

Verb

retund (third-person singular simple present retunds, present participle retunding, simple past and past participle retunded)

1. (transitive) To blunt; to turn, as an edge.
   • 1691, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC:

     Covered with skin and hair keeps it warm, being naturally a very cold part, and also to quench and dissipate the force of any stroke that shall be dealt it, and retund the edge of any weapon.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To cause to be obtuse or dull.

   to retund confidence

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “retund”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• Druten, deturn, dunter, runted, turned