garble

English

Etymology

Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare, from Arabic غربل (ğárbala, “to sift”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)bəl

Verb

garble (third-person singular simple present garbles, present participle garbling, simple past and past participle garbled)

1. (obsolete) To sift or bolt, to separate the fine or valuable parts of from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt; as, to garble spices.
2. To pick out such parts of as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert; as, to garble a quotation; to garble an account.
3. To make false by mutilation or addition

   The editor garbled the story.

Derived terms

• garbley gook

Noun

garble (plural garbles)

1. (obsolete) refuse; rubbish

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wolcott to this entry?)

2. (obsolete) Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

External links

• garble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• garble in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911