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muffle

 [muhf-uhl]   Origin

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., especially to keep warm or protect the face and neck (often followed 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.

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Muffle is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
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Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English mufeln, perhaps aphetic form of Anglo-French *amoufler, for Old French enmoufler to wrap up, muffle, derivative of moufle mitten (see en-1, muff); (def. 8) directly < French moufle literally, mitten
Dictionary.com Unabridged

muf·fle

2   [muhf-uhl]
noun
the thick, bare part of the upper lip and nose of ruminants and rodents.
Origin:
1595–1605; < Middle French mufle muzzle, snout, probably blend of moufle chubby face (obscurely akin to German Muffel snout) and museau snout, muzzle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
muffle1 (ˈmʌfəl)
 
—vb
1.  (often foll by up) to wrap up (the head) in a scarf, cloak, etc, esp for warmth
2.  to deaden (a sound or noise), esp by wrapping
3.  to prevent (the expression of something) by (someone)
 
—n
4.  something that muffles
5.  a kiln with an inner chamber for firing porcelain, enamel, etc, at a low temperature
 
[C15: probably from Old French; compare Old French moufle mitten, emmouflé wrapped up]

muffle2 (ˈmʌfəl)
 
—n
the fleshy hairless part of the upper lip and nose in ruminants and some rodents
 
[C17: from French mufle, of unknown origin]

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

muffle
early 15c., "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. Related: Muffled; muffling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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