Benumbed is the past participle of benumb, from Middle English benomen, from Old English beniman ('to deprive'), later linked to numb. The historical trail runs through beniman in Old English and niman in Old English. Used as an adjective, benumbed now means "deprived of feeling or sensation; numbed", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as benumb and numb. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense.