I. ˈməfəl transitive verb
( muffled ; muffled ; muffling -f(ə)liŋ ; muffles )
Etymology: Middle English muflen, perhaps from (assumed) Middle French moufler to envelop in mittens, from Middle French moufle mitten
1. : to wrap up so as to conceal or protect : cover over : envelop
muffling his neck with a knitted scarf — Agatha Christie
the cloud … muffled the plane — Ira Wolfert
the grey fog which muffled the sky — Ellen Glasgow
still drowsy, he muffled his face and went to sleep — C.G.D.Roberts
2.
a. obsolete : to prevent from seeing : blindfold
love, whose view is muffled still, should without eyes see pathways to his will — Shakespeare
b. : to prevent from speaking : silence
let's muffle all the gossip — Louis Bromfield
3.
a. : to wrap or pad with something to dull the sound of
the rowlocks were muffled in chamois — A.B.Mayse
b. : to deaden the sound of
muffle the noises of the street — Virginia Woolf
the sands … have muffled the tread of countless armies — Rex Keating
4. : to keep down : suppress
the abrupt, bony, closemouthed prose … muffles his social comment — John Woodburn
made an admirable effort to muffle his feelings — Time
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. archaic : something that covers the neck or face : muffler
b. : something resembling a muffle
it had a soothing … influence, that muffle of snow — Harper's
2.
[French moufle, literally, mitten, from Middle French]
: a compartment or oven used in a furnace in firing wares (as those decorated over the glaze) that must be protected from flame — see muffle furnace
3. : something that deadens sound ; also : the sound deadened
the muffle of distant thunder
muffle of marching feet
4.
[French moufle mitten, from Middle French]
archaic : boxing glove
sometimes we must box without a muffle — Lord Byron
5.
[French, literally, mitten, from Middle French]
: a pulley block with several sheaves
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French mufle, from Middle French, alteration (probably influenced by Middle French museau muzzle, from Old French musel ) of moufle fat coarse face, from German muffel short snout, sulky person, of imitative origin — more at muzzle
: the rhinarium of mammals in which it is heavy and flabby