Buzz
The iconic phrase “Liberty or death” was spoken by Patrick Henry, but it seems that the 18th century poet, scholar, essayist, and politician Joseph Addison laid the groundwork for this idea. Addison’s line in a play — “But chains or conquest, liberty or death” — is believed to have influenced Henry’s famous declaration, “Give me liberty or give me death.” While Addison is remembered for his intellectual contributions, he also introduced a term that holds more meaning for gym-goers today.
That’s because Addison (likely) created the term dumbbell.
In times past, before modern fitness equipment made it easy to target muscles like the deltoids and biceps with intense bodybuilding workouts, people had to get creative with whatever was on hand. For Addison, this involved using a rope-and-pulley system similar to the one used to ring church bells. Since pulling on the rope and interacting with the attached lead weight didn’t make any sound, it was called a ‘dumb’ bell.
The extent to which the term was widely used before Addison is uncertain, but he is recognized as the first to bring it to a major printed publication. In 1711, Addison wrote in his periodical The Spectator, which supported the now-defunct Whig political party, stating:
“As for myself, when I am in town, I spend an hour every morning exercising with a dumbbell placed in the corner of my room. I find it all the more satisfying because it performs every task I ask of it in complete silence. My landlady and her daughters are so familiar with my workout schedule that they never enter my room to interrupt me while I’m ringing.”
It’s unclear when this equipment, which was bulky and needed to be placed above the workout area, fell out of fashion and the word dumbbell
Later in the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin mentioned his personal regimen for maintaining physical health, which included dumbbell exercises along with nudity. He wrote, “I rise almost every morning and sit in my chamber without any clothes on whatever, for half an hour or an hour, depending on the season, either reading or writing.” Franklin didn’t clarify whether he lifted dumbbells while nude, but one can never be sure.
Dumbbell as an Insult
Dumbbell was clearly meant to mock the silent bell, not the person lifting it. However, over time, dumbbell (or dumb-bell) also came to be used as an insult for someone showing ignorance or foolishness.
Green’s Dictionary of Slang traces the use of dumbbell as an insult back to 1858, when Henry David Thoreau wrote in his diary, “I see dumb-bells in the minister’s study and some of their dumbness gets into his sermons.”
It’s quite possible that dumb-bell influenced the origin of another term for foolishness, the well-known dumbass, which began appearing in print around 1934.
Why the Kettlebell Is Called a Kettlebell
Kettlebells, which originated in the Soviet Union, became popular in the United States for their versatility and the way they distribute weight. Unfortunately, the origin of the term is less clear than that of dumbbells. It’s possible that the ball-shaped weights were called girya (kettlebells) because they resembled a kettle without a spout.
Kettlebells were initially used for trade: they served as counterweights to measure goods in the market. Eventually, people began lifting and tossing them, discovering significant gains in strength and muscle. They were typically sold in increments of 36.1 pounds, referred to as poods. Americans embraced them as a fitness trend in the early 2000s, and they’ve since become a staple in gyms.
That being said, dumbbells are likely the go-to exercise equipment, in addition to still being a handy insult. (No one ever thinks to call an idiot a kettlebell.) What would Addison have thought about dumbbells becoming so widespread in culture, both as a slang term and a fitness pursuit? As both a scholar and an exercise enthusiast, he would probably have approved. You might be familiar with another famous quote of Addison’s: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
