Hypertext Webster Gateway: "muffle"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Muffle \Muf"fle\, v. i. [Cf. F. maffle, mumble, D. moffelen.]
To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Muffle \Muf"fle\, n. [F. moufle, prop., a mitten, from the
resemblance in shape. See {Muffle}, v. t., {Muff}.]
1. Anything with which another thing, as an oar or drum, is
muffled; also, a boxing glove; a muff.
2. (Metal.) An earthenware compartment or oven, often shaped
like a half cylinder, used in furnaces to protect objects
heated from the direct action of the fire, as in
scorification of ores, cupellation of ore buttons, etc.
3. (Ceramics) A small oven for baking and fixing the colors
of painted or printed pottery, without exposing the
pottery to the flames of the furnace or kiln.
4. A pulley block containing several sheaves. --Knight.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Muffle \Muf"fle\ (m[u^]f"f'l), n.
The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; -- used esp.
of ruminants.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Muffle \Muf"fle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Muffled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Muffling}.] [Cf. F. moufle a mitten, LL. muffula, OD. moffel
a muff. See {Muff}.]
1. To wrap up in something that conceals or protects; to
wrap, as the face and neck, in thick and disguising folds;
hence, to conceal or cover the face of; to envelop; to
inclose; -- often with up. --South.
The face lies muffled up within the garment.
--Addison.
He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes. --Dryden.
Muffled up in darkness and superstition.
--Arbuthnot.
2. To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound
about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.
3. To wrap with something that dulls or deadens the sound of;
as, to muffle the strings of a drum, or that part of an
oar which rests in the rowlock.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
muffle
n : a kiln with an inner chamber for firing things at a low
temperature
v 1: conceal, suppress, or hide; "smother a yawn" [syn: {smother},
{stifle}]
2: deaden (a sound or noise), esp. by wrapping [syn: {mute}, {dull},
{damp}, {dampen}, {tone down}]
3: quieten or silence (a sound) or make (an image) less visible
[syn: {dampen}, {mute}, {deaden}, {damp}, {tone down}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.