Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

muffle

/mʌfl̩/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.28 in modern English

Syllables
muf-fle
IPA
/mʌfl̩/
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Anything that mutes or deadens sound.

noun

A warm piece of clothing for the hands.

noun

A boxing glove.

Archaic; Slang

noun

The bare end of the nose between the nostrils, especially in ruminants.

verb

To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection; often with up.

Transitive verb

verb

To wrap up or cover (a source of noise) in order to deaden the sound.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English muflen (“to muffle”), aphetic alteration of Anglo-Norman amoufler, from Old French enmoufler (“to wrap up, muffle”), from moufle (“mitten”), from Medieval Latin muffula (“a muff”), of Germanic origin (—first recorded in the Capitulary of Aachen in 817 C.E.), from Frankish *muffël (“a muff, wrap, envelope”) from *mauwa (“sleeve, wrap”) (from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“sleeve”)) + *vël (“skin, hide”) (from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”). Alternate etymology traces the Medieval Latin word to Frankish *molfell (“soft garment made of hide”) from *mol (“softened, forworn”) (akin to Old High German molawēn (“to soften”), Middle High German molwic (“soft”), English mulch) + *fell (“hide, skin”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *mewH-, muflen, amoufler, enmoufler, muffula, *muffël

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce muffle?
The recorded pronunciation is /mʌfl̩/.
What does muffle mean?
Anything that mutes or deadens sound.
Where does muffle come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce muffle

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “muffle”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/mʌfl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “muffle”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “muffle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.