Etymograph

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’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1‘skin, hide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fellą2‘skin, film, fleece’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mawwō2‘sleeve’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*muffël2‘a muff, wrap, envelope’reconstructed
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500muffula2‘a muff’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enmoufler2‘to wrap up, muffle’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amoufler2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muflen2‘to muffle’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1700muffle2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fellą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English muffle
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1700, John Dryden, Ceyx and Alcone: “He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fellą‘skin, hide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*felląWiktionary, English muffle‘skin, film, fleece’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mawwōWiktionary, English muffle‘sleeve’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*muffëlWiktionary, English muffle‘a muff, wrap, envelope’reconstructed
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500muffulaWiktionary, English muffle‘a muff’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enmouflerWiktionary, English muffle‘to wrap up, muffle’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amouflerWiktionary, English muffle
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muflenWiktionary, English muffle‘to muffle’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1700muffleWiktionary, English muffle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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’

fell, filter, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *mawwō ‘sleeve’

mow

through Medieval Latin muffula ‘a muff’

camo, 2 more

Today it means

noun Anything that mutes or deadens sound.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “muffle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *fellą. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pel- / muffle

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