muffle

Meaning

Noun

1. Anything that mutes or deadens sound.
2. A warm piece of clothing for the hands.
3. (slang) A boxing glove.
4. A kiln or furnace, often electric, with no direct flames (a muffle furnace)
5. The bare end of the nose between the nostrils, especially in ruminants.
6. A machine with two pulleys to hoist load by spinning wheels, polyspast, block and tackle.

Verb

1. To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection; often with up.
2. To wrap up or cover (a source of noise) in order to deaden the sound.
3. To mute or deaden (a sound etc.).
4. To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.
5. To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.

Synonyms

deaden

dampen

mute

🔇

stifle

damp

smother

cover

strangle

silence

repress

blanket

dull

cloak

tone down

shroud

mat

muzzle

overlay

pulley

allay

quell

quench

reduce

screen

silencer

slake

span

squash

squelch

suffocate

suppress

swallow

tackle

top

🔝

veil

wrap

cover over

force back

contend over

quash

cage

cap

choke

choke down

choke off

clothe

curtain

cushion

defray

enshroud

hoist

hush

jammer

mantle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/mʌfl̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: muflen

Cognate with Old High German: molawēn

Cognate with Middle High German: molwic

Cognate with English: mulch

In summary

From Middle English muflen (“to muffle”), aphetic alteration of Anglo-Norman amoufler, from Old French enmoufler (“to wrap up, muffle”), from moufle (“mitten”), from Medieval Latin muffula (“a muff”), of Germanic origin (—first recorded in the Capitulary of Aachen in 817 C.E.), from Frankish *muffël (“a muff, wrap, envelope”) from *mauwa (“sleeve, wrap”) (from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“sleeve”)) + *vël (“skin, hide”) (from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”). Alternate etymology traces the Medieval Latin word to Frankish *molfell (“soft garment made of hide”) from *mol (“softened, forworn”) (akin to Old High German molawēn (“to soften”), Middle High German molwic (“soft”), English mulch) + *fell (“hide, skin”).