STIFLE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English Date: 14th century the joint next above the hock in the hind leg of a quadruped (as a horse or dog) corresponding to the human knee, II. verb (~d; stifling) Etymology: alteration of Middle English stuflen Date: 1513 transitive verb 1. to kill by depriving of oxygen ; suffocate , b. smother , muffle , 2. to cut off (as the voice or breath), to withhold from circulation or expression ; repress , deter , discourage , intransitive verb to become suffocated by or as if by lack of oxygen ; smother , ~r noun stiflingly adverb