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gargle

 [gahr-guhl]   Origin

gar·gle

   [gahr-guhl] verb, -gled, -gling, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to wash or rinse the throat or mouth with a liquid held in the throat and kept in motion by a stream of air from the lungs.
verb (used with object)
2.
to gargle (the throat or mouth).
3.
to utter with a gargling sound.

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noun
4.
any liquid used for gargling.
5.
a gargling sound.
Origin:
1520–30; < Middle French gargouiller to gargle, rattle the throat, derivative of gargouille throat; perhaps imitative

Related forms
gar·gler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
gargle (ˈɡɑːɡəl)
 
—vb
1.  to rinse (the mouth and throat) with a liquid, esp a medicinal fluid by slowly breathing out through the liquid
2.  to utter (words, sounds, etc) with the throaty bubbling noise of gargling
 
—n
3.  the liquid used for gargling
4.  the sound produced by gargling
5.  informal (Brit) an alcoholic drink: what was her favourite gargle?
 
[C16: from Old French gargouiller to gargle, make a gurgling sound, from gargouille throat, perhaps of imitative origin]
 
'gargler
 
—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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gargle
1520s, from M.Fr. gargouiller "to gurgle, bubble," from O.Fr. gargouille "throat, waterspout," perhaps from garg-, imitative of throat sounds, + *goule dial. for "mouth," from L. gula "throat." Related: Gargled; gargling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

gargle gar·gle (gär'gəl)
v. gar·gled, gar·gling, gar·gles
To force exhaled air through a liquid held in the back of the mouth, with the head tilted back, in order to cleanse or medicate the mouth or throat. n.
A medicated fluid used for gargling. Also called throatwash.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

gargle definition


  1. in.
    to drink liquor. : They sat and gargled for an hour or two.
  2. n.
    liquor; a drink of liquor. : You want some more gargle?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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