dazzle

Where does the word "dazzle" come from? It comes from Old Norse dasa, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Dazzle’s story begins in Old Norse: dasa meant “to become exhausted, weary.” The root of 'daze'; 'dazzle' camouflage painted World War I ships in bold stripes. It reached English by 1400s as dazzle. Narrowed to mean overwhelmed by bright light or impressive skill. Today, dazzle means to impress deeply, or to overwhelm someone's vision with bright light.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval dasa "to become exhausted, weary", the root of 'daze'; 'dazzle' camouflage painted World War I ships in bold stripes.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s dazzle "to overwhelm with brightness or impressive skill", narrowed to mean overwhelmed by bright light or impressive skill.