BAFFLE

I. transitive verb (~d; baffling) Etymology: probably alteration of Middle English (Scots) bawchillen to denounce, discredit publicly Date: 1675 to defeat or check (as a person) by confusing or puzzling ; disconcert , to check or break the force or flow of by or as if by a ~, see: frustrate ~ment noun ~r noun bafflingly adverb II. noun Date: 1881 a device (as a plate, wall, or screen) to deflect, check, or regulate flow or passage (as of a fluid, light, or sound), ~d adjective