muzzle

noun

/ˈmʌzəl/

Etymology

From earlier muzle, musle, mousle, mussel, mozell, from Middle English mosel, from Old French musel, museau, muzeau (modern French museau), from Late Latin mūsus (“snout”), probably expressive of the shape of protruded lips and/or influenced by Latin mūgīre (“to moo, bellow”). Doublet of museau. Displaced native Middle English kevel from Old English cæfl (“gag, bit, muzzle”), see English cavel.

derived from mūsus — “snout”
derived from musel
inherited from mosel

Definitions

1
The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws.
- The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, / The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, […]
A person's mouth.
A device used to prevent an animal from biting or eating, which is worn on its snout.
›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer
1. The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet…
  The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from.
2. A piece of the forward end of the plow-beam by which the traces are attached.
3. An openwork covering for the nose, used for the defense of the horse, and forming part of…
  An openwork covering for the nose, used for the defense of the horse, and forming part of the bards in the 15th and 16th centuries.
4. 7
  To bind or confine an animal's mouth by putting a muzzle, as to prevent it from eating or…
  To bind or confine an animal's mouth by putting a muzzle, as to prevent it from eating or biting.
  - Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
5. 8
  To restrain (from speaking, expressing opinion or acting)
  To restrain (from speaking, expressing opinion or acting); to gag; to silence; to censor.
  - Those who want to muzzle everyone else are likely nothing less than pseudovirtuous.
  - Man is brow-beaten, leashed, muzzled, masked, and lashed by boards and councils, by leagues and societies, by church and state.
6. To veil, mask, muffle.
7. 10
  To fondle with the closed mouth
  To fondle with the closed mouth; to nuzzle.
  - Venus her self would sit Muzzling and Gazing them in the Eyes
8. 11
  To bring the muzzle or mouth near.
  - The Bear comes directly up to him, Muzzles and Smells to him.

The neighborhood

Derived

graymuzzle, greymuzzle, muzzle-bag, muzzle blast, muzzle booster, muzzle brake, muzzle compensator, muzzle energy, muzzle flash, muzzleless, muzzlelike, muzzle-loader, muzzleloader, muzzle-loading, muzzleloading, muzzle sweep, muzzle velocity, muzzock, unmuzzle, muzzler

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at muzzle. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at muzzle. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at muzzle

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

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