I. ˈgär-bəl transitive verb
( gar·bled ; gar·bling -b(ə-)liŋ)
Etymology: Middle English garbelen, from Old Italian garbellare to sift, from Arabic gharbala, from Late Latin cribellare, from cribellum sieve; akin to Latin cernere to sift — more at certain
Date: 15th century
1. archaic : cull 1
2. : to sift impurities from
3.
a. : to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning
garble a story
b. : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment
• gar·bler -b(ə-)lər noun
II. noun
Date: 1502
1. : the impurities removed from spices in sifting
2. : an act or an instance of garbling