Deaf, on the other hand, has only obscure connection to the ancient languages: M-W suggests it is akin to Greek typhlos, meaning, of all things, blind. Somehow, though, they also link deaf to Greek typhlein and Latin fumus, both meaning smoke. I don’t really see the definitional connection — I suppose smoke does blind people, certainly temporarily and possibly for the long term, but it seems tenuous. And if I were editing this dictionary, I’d leave out the Latin entirely. You can draw a straight line between the initial consonants of typhl-, fumus, and deaf by interpretation of Grimm’s Law (proto-Indo-European consonant dh becomes t in Greek, f in Latin, and d in Germanic languages, especially English). But while it’s no great shakes to interpret Greek phi (?) as English f, my inexpert eye sees no connection between the nasal m and the fricative f. Call me old-fashioned, but that just ain’t right.