Q. Why are hand weights called "dumbbells"? — J. H., West Hartford, Conn.

It's hard to imagine these clunky objects having anything to do with a church, but that's where the term began.

The earliest meaning of "dumb," a word that appeared in English around A.D. 1000, was "incapable of speech, mute." This meaning produced "dumb show" (a pantomime), "dumbstruck" (made silent by astonishment) and "dumbfound" (a blend of "dumb" and "confound"). (The use of "dumb" to mean "dim-witted" didn't appear in English until the 1800s, but more on that later.)

In medieval Europe, the ringing of church bells was an important enterprise, and learning to ring the bells properly required extensive training and practice. Because no one wanted to listen to some clumsy novice trying to master this skill ("DONG-ding-ding-oops!-DONG-ding-DONG"), novice bell-ringers practiced with "dumb bells," metal weights that made no sound when manipulated.

During the "fitness craze" of the late 1700s, people started using smaller versions of these weights for exercise, and these became known as "dumbbells" as well. "Pump your dumbbells, Henry, or you'll never be able to toss those tea chests into Boston Harbor!"

A short time later, someone connected two dumbbells with a bar to create a "barbell," instantly tripling the number of abdominal hernias among men trying to impress their girlfriends.

During the 1800s, German immigrants to the U.S.

brought with them their word "dumm," meaning "stupid." Soon, Americans had added this new meaning to their similar-sounding word "dumb." So even the word "dumb" itself has been "dumbed down."

The use of "dumbbell" to describe a slow-witted person may refer to metal dumbbells. Or, it may be a combination of "dumb," meaning stupid, and "bell," an old term for the head. Today's football announcers still use this meaning of "bell" when they say a player dazed by a blow to the head has "had his bell rung."

During the late 1800s, "dumbbell" also gained notoriety as an architectural term. As immigrants poured into American cities, many were crammed into "dumbbell tenements" — apartment buildings shaped like dumbbells, with small, windowless rooms on each end and a narrow hallway in the middle.

Did King Kong, while rampaging through Manhattan, exercise by picking up dumbbell tenements?

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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