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Baffling

 - 3 dictionary results

baf⋅fle

  [baf-uhl] verb, -fled, -fling, noun
Use Baffling in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to confuse, bewilder, or perplex: He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
2. to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
3. to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
4. to equip with a baffle or baffles.
5. Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
–verb (used without object)
6. to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.
–noun
7. something that balks, checks, or deflects.
8. an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
9. any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
Origin:
1540–50; 1910–15 for def. 8; perh. < Scots bauchle to disgrace, treat with contempt, equiv. to bauch (see baff ) + -le

Related forms:
baf⋅fle⋅ment, noun
baffler, noun
baffling, adjective
baf⋅fling⋅ly, adverb
baf⋅fling⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Baffling
baf·fle   (bāf'əl)   
tr.v.   baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles

  1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie.

  2. To impede the force or movement of.

n.  

  1. A usually static device that regulates the flow of a fluid or light.

  2. A partition that prevents interference between sound waves in a loudspeaker.


[Perhaps blend of Scottish Gaelic bauchle, to denounce, revile publicly, and French bafouer, to ridicule.]
baf'fle·ment n., baf'fler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

baffle 
1548, "to disgrace," perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle "to disgrace publicly" (especially a perjured knight), prob. related to Fr. bafouer "to abuse, hoodwink," possibly from baf, a natural sound of disgust, like bah. Meaning "to bewilder, confuse" is from 1649; that of "to defeat someone's efforts" is from 1675. The noun sense of "shielding device" is first recorded 1881.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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