| n. | 1. | The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; - used esp. of ruminants. |
| v. t. | 1. | To wrap up in something that conceals or protects; to wrap, as the face and neck, in thick and disguising folds; hence, to conceal or cover the face of; to envelop; to inclose; - often with up. |
| 2. | To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen. |
| 3. | To wrap or fit with something that dulls or deadens the sound of; as, to muffle the strings of a drum, or that part of an oar which rests in the rowlock; to muffle the exhaust of a motor vehicle. |
| v. i. | 1. | To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation. |
| n. | 1. | Anything with which another thing, as an oar or drum, is muffled; also, a boxing glove; a muff. |
| 2. | (Metal.) An earthenware compartment or oven, often shaped like a half cylinder, used in furnaces to protect objects heated from the direct action of the fire, as in scorification of ores, cupellation of ore buttons, etc. |
| 3. | (Ceramics) A small oven for baking and fixing the colors of painted or printed pottery, without exposing the pottery to the flames of the furnace or kiln. |
| 4. | A pulley block containing several sheaves. |