Dave

name

1. A diminutive of the male given name David, also used as a formal given name.

   “David, with its final "d", sounds finished and complete, whereas Dave just kind of hangs there in the air, indefinitely. - - - Worse, if your name is Dave, the only possible nickname is "Davey", which makes you sound like you should be wearing a coonskin cap.”

   “Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said he would send two customers to tour a former Nazi concentration camp after they allegedly engaged in antisemitic behavior at a Barstool pub in Philadelphia, then later retracted that offer for at least one of them because he said the person was denying responsibility for what happened.”

2. A surname from Gujarati from Gujarati દવે (dave, “(one who has studied) two Vedas”).
3. A female given name.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), from Old English dēafian (“to wax or become deaf”) and Old Norse deyfa (“to make deaf, make blunt, numb, soothe, allay”). Cognate with dialectal Norwegian døyva (“to deafen, make dull”).

1. To assuage; soften; mitigate; relieve; calm; alleviate (pain).