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muffle

noun
/mʌfl̩/

Etymology

From Middle English muflen (“to muffle”), aphetic alteration of Anglo-Norman amoufler, from Old French enmoufler (“to wrap up, muffle”), from moufle (“mitten”), from Medieval Latin muffula (“a muff”), of Germanic origin (—first recorded in the Capitulary of Aachen in 817 C.E.), from Frankish *muffël (“a muff, wrap, envelope”) from *mauwa (“sleeve, wrap”) (from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“sleeve”)) + *vël (“skin, hide”) (from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”). Alternate etymology traces the Medieval Latin word to Frankish *molfell (“soft garment made of hide”) from *mol (“softened, forworn”) (akin to Old High German molawēn (“to soften”), Middle High German molwic (“soft”), English mulch) + *fell (“hide, skin”).

  1. derived from *molfell✻ — “soft garment made of hide”
  2. derived from *fellą✻ — “skin, film, fleece”
  3. derived from *mawwō✻ — “sleeve”
  4. derived from *muffël✻ — “a muff, wrap, envelope”
  5. derived from muffula — “a muff”
  6. derived from enmoufler
  7. derived from amoufler
  8. inherited from muflen — “to muffle”

Definitions

  1. Anything that mutes or deadens sound.

  2. A warm piece of clothing for the hands.

  3. A boxing glove.

  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. A kiln or furnace, often electric, with no direct flames (a muffle furnace)

    2. The bare end of the nose between the nostrils, especially in ruminants.

    3. A machine with two pulleys to hoist load by spinning wheels, polyspast, block and tackle.

    4. To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection

      To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection; often with up.

      • The face lies muffled up within the garment.
      • He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.

    5. To wrap up or cover (a source of noise) in order to deaden the sound.

      • to muffle the strings of a drum, or that part of an oar which rests in the rowlock
      • I intend to muffle the sweeps and row the schooner up to the head of the creek there, from which point we can command the pile of sandal-wood with our gun.

    6. To mute or deaden (a sound etc.).

      • The singer's voice was muffled by the thick walls, yet Tyrion knew the verse.

    7. To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.

    8. To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head

      To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for muffle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA