Muffles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Lessens the intensity or loudness of sounds ; envelops or covers something to diminish the noise it makes
2. Decreases the volume or clarity of a sound ; wraps an object or person to quiet the sounds they produce
3. Dampens or deadens noises to make them softer ; surrounds with material or clothing to reduce noise emission

Etymology: "Muffles" is the third-person singular form of "muffle," so the question is really where the verb came from. It is an aphetic form: Middle English "muflen" was a shortened version of the Anglo-Norman "amoufler," itself from Old French "enmoufler," meaning "to wrap up." The Old French noun underneath was "moufle," a mitten, which came from Medieval Latin "muffula," a muff. That Latin word was borrowed from Germanic speakers. Frankish "*muffël" meant a wrap or envelope for the hands, and it is recorded as early as 817 in the Capitulary of Aachen. Some scholars trace it instead to a Frankish compound meaning "soft garment made of hide," which would make the sense of softness and padding the original core. Either way, the notion of wrapping something soft around an object is what carried over into English. The sense about sound follows naturally. Wrapping a bell or a drum in cloth dampens it, so to muffle a sound is to cover its source in something soft enough to deaden it.

Synonyms: dampen, mute, soften, muffle, dull

Antonyms: amplify, intensify, enhance, clarify, sharpen