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muffle

 - 5 dictionary results

muf⋅fle

1[muhf-uhl] verb, -fled, -fling, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to wrap with something to deaden or prevent sound: to muffle drums.
2. to deaden (sound) by wrappings or other means.
3. to wrap or envelop in a cloak, shawl, coat, etc., esp. to keep warm or protect the face and neck (often fol. by up): Muffle up the children before they go out.
4. to wrap (oneself) in a garment or other covering: muffled in silk.
5. to alter temporarily the profile of (a plaster mold) in order to run a base coat of plaster that will later be covered by a finish coat having the true profile.
–noun
6. something that muffles.
7. muffled sound.
8. an oven or arched chamber in a furnace or kiln, used for heating substances without direct contact with the fire.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME mufeln, perh. aph. form of AF *amoufler, for OF enmoufler to wrap up, muffle, deriv. of moufle mitten (see en- 1 , muff ); (def. 8) directly < F moufle lit., mitten

muf⋅fle

2[muhf-uhl]
–noun
the thick, bare part of the upper lip and nose of ruminants and rodents.

Origin:
1595–1605; < MF mufle muzzle, snout, prob. b. moufle chubby face (obscurely akin to G Muffel snout) and museau snout, muzzle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To muffle
muf·fle 1   (mŭf'əl)   
tr.v.   muf·fled, muf·fling, muf·fles
  1. To wrap up, as in a blanket or shawl, for warmth, protection, or secrecy.

    1. To wrap or pad in order to deaden the sound: muffled the drums.

    2. To deaden (a sound): The sand muffled the hoofbeats.

  2. To make vague or obscure: "His message was so muffled by learning and 'artiness'" (Walter Blair).

  3. To repress; stifle.

n.  
  1. Something that muffles.

  2. A kiln or part of a kiln in which pottery can be fired without being exposed to direct flame.


[Middle English muflen, possibly from Old French mofler, to stuff, from mofle, glove; see muff2.]
muf·fle 2   (mŭf'əl)   
n.  The fleshy, hairless snout of certain mammals, such as ruminants.

[French mufle, perhaps blend of moufle, chubby face (from Old French; see muff2) and museau, muzzle (from Old French musel; see muzzle).]
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

muffle  (v.)
c.1430, "to cover or wrap (something) to conceal or protect," perhaps from M.Fr. mofler "to stuff," from O.Fr. moufle "thick glove, muff" (cf. O.Fr. enmoufle "wrapped up"); see muff (n.). Meaning "wrap something up to deaden sound" first recorded 1761. Muffler as a kind of scarf is from 1535; as an automobile exhaust system silencer, it is attested from 1895.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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