Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STUN, v.t. [Sas. stunian; Fr. etonner. The primary sense is to strike or to stop, to blunt, to stupefy.]

1. To make senseless or dizzy with a blow on the head; as, to be stunned by a fall, or by a falling timber. One hung a pole-ax at his saddle-bow, / And one a heavy mace to stun the foe. – Dryden.
2. To overpower the sense of hearing; to blunt or stupefy the organs of hearing. To prevent being stunned, cannoneers sometimes fill their ears with wool.
3. To confound or make dizzy by loud and mingled sound. … An universal hubbub wild / Of stunning sounds and voices all confus'd. – Milton.