Munge

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To process or manipulate data in a way that changes its original form or structure, often leading to distortion or corruption ; to alter information through a sequence of transformations that can complicate or invalidate its initial meaning ; to perform modifications on data that may result in loss of clarity or integrity
2. To convert or handle information so that its initial format is disrupted or rendered unusable ; to affect data by multiple alterations causing it to become corrupted or unclear ; to tamper with a dataset, transforming it in a way that distorts its original content
3. To change or tamper with information, causing it to lose its original coherence or meaning ; to transform data in a way that may degrade its quality or reliability ; to manipulate or modify raw information, often resulting in its compromised or unreadable state

Etymology: "Munge" is a variant spelling of "mung," and the two words share a history that is more tangled than the modern sense suggests. The verb "munge" in its computing sense means to scramble or transform data into a different format, often so that it can be read or processed by another system. Its roots lie in the older "mung," which has long carried the sense of mixing or crushing something into a messy state. The most likely explanation for the spelling "munge" is that it was created as a back-formation: speakers took a related form such as "munging," "munged," or "munger" and worked backward to a new base verb. This kind of reconstruction is common in technical jargon, where a word is shaped by the forms people hear most often rather than by a direct line of descent. The result is a verb whose spelling looks like an odd variant of "mung," even though its immediate shape came from the forms that surrounded it.

Synonyms: scramble, garble, corrupt, mangle, distort

Antonyms: preserve, protect, clean, restore, repair