Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Muffle?

\Muf"fle\ (m[u^]f"f'l), n. The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; -- used esp. of ruminants.
\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.
\Muf"fle\, v. i. [Cf. F. maffle, mumble, D. moffelen.] To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.
\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.