garble
Use Garble in a sentence
bəl verb (used with object)
1.
to confuse unintentionally or ignorantly; jumble: to garble instructions.
2.
to make unfair or misleading selections from or arrangement of (fact, statements, writings, etc.); distort: to garble a quotation.
3.
Archaic. to take out the best of.
noun
4.
the act or process of garbling.
5.
an instance of garbling; a garbled phrase, literary passage, etc.
00:10
Garble
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English garbelen to remove refuse from spices < Old Italian garbellare to sift < Arabic gharbala < Late Latin crībellāre, derivative of crībellum, diminutive of Latin crībrum sieve (see -elle); probably influenced by garboil
1400–50; late Middle English garbelen to remove refuse from spices < Old Italian garbellare to sift < Arabic gharbala < Late Latin crībellāre, derivative of crībellum, diminutive of Latin crībrum sieve (see -elle); probably influenced by garboil
Related forms
gar·ble·a·ble, adjective
gar·bler, noun
un·gar·bled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To garble
Collins
World English Dictionary
garble (ˈɡɑːbəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to jumble (a story, quotation, etc), esp unintentionally |
| 2. | to distort the meaning of (an account, text, etc), as by making misleading omissions; corrupt |
| 3. | rare to select the best part of |
| —n | |
| 4. | a. the act of garbling |
| b. garbled matter | |
| [C15: from Old Italian garbellare to strain, sift, from Arabic gharbala, from ghirbāl sieve, from Late Latin crībellum small sieve, from crībrum sieve] | |
| 'garbler | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
garble
early 15c., from Anglo-Fr. garbeler "to sift," from M.L. and It. garbellare, from Arabic gharbala "to sift and select spices," related to kirbal "sieve," perhaps from L. cribellum, dim. of cribrum "sieve" (see crisis). A widespread word among Mediterranean traders; sense
of "mix up, confuse, distort language" first recorded 1680s. Related: Garbled; garbling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Radio communication is subject to interference by outside sources, which may garble or mask the message.
Also, transmission anomalies might garble a small percentage of fingerprints during transmission.
Movement interfered with the signals, so that even an eyebrow twitch could garble the brain impulses.
There remains, however, the possibility of another garble.
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