Muffle \Muf"fle\ (m[u^]f"f'l), n. The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; -- used esp. of ruminants.
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 or fit 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; to muffle the exhaust of a motor vehicle.
Muffle \Muf"fle\, v. i. [Cf. F. maffle, mumble, D. moffelen.] To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.
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.
All the talk of peace initiatives may muffle the ticking of the bomb.
The size 6B "Wizard of Oz" slippers _ topped with 2,300 crimson-dyed sequins and soled with orange felt to muffle footsteps on the sound stage _ were among seven or eight pairs worn by Miss Garland while filming the 1939 MGM classic.
The high interest rates caused by Manila's increased borrowing drain government coffers, crowd out private investment and muffle the economy.