Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Deaf-mute

Deaf-mute , noun

A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it. [See Illust. of Dactylology.]
Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.