English
muffle
Muffle comes from Middle English muflen ‘to muffle’, from Medieval Latin muffula ‘a muff’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘skin, hide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-‘skin, hide’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fellą‘skin, film, fleece’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mawwō‘sleeve’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*muffël‘a muff, wrap, envelope’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500muffula‘a muff’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enmoufler‘to wrap up, muffle’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amoufler
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muflen‘to muffle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1700muffle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-‘skin, hide’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fellą‘skin, film, fleece’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mawwō‘sleeve’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*muffël‘a muff, wrap, envelope’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500muffula‘a muff’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enmoufler‘to wrap up, muffle’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amoufler
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muflen‘to muffle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1700muffle
Earliest quotation: 1700, John Dryden, Ceyx and Alcone: “He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘skin, hide’
film, felt, simply, simple, push, powder, complain, fold, pulse, pillow, repeal, palate, flaw, compulsive, expel, pollen, repel, palladium, propel, palpable, pall, pelt, palatable, wallow, peloton, pollinate, polemic, palatal, peplum, pulver, tuple, palp, pillion, apoplexy, interpolate, 63 more
through Proto-Germanic *fellą ‘skin, film, fleece’
through Proto-Germanic *mawwō ‘sleeve’
through Medieval Latin muffula ‘a muff’
Today it means
noun Anything that mutes or deadens sound.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pel- / muffle