mangle
/ˈmæŋ.ɡ(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.39 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To modify (an identifier from source code) so as to produce a unique identifier for internal use by the compiler, etc.
Transitive verb
noun
A hand-operated device with rollers, for wringing laundry.
Example Sentences
- "mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail"
- "c. 1703-20, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Very Young Lady on Her Marriage when they are disposed to mangle a play or a novel"
- "There was a bright-red plastic baby-bath, a car tyre, a rusty mangle, and something that looked like a primitive version of a washing machine."
Etymology
From Middle English mangelen, manglen, from Anglo-Norman mangler, mahangler, frequentative of either Old French mangonner (“to cut to pieces”) or mahaigner (“to mutilate”), of Germanic origin, for which see mayhem. Alternate etymology derives mangle from Middle English *mankelen, a frequentative form of manken (“to mutilate”), from Old English *mancian, bemancian (“to maim”). More at mank.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Transitive verb
- Archaic
- American usage