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med·dle

(mĕdl)

intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles

1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere.

2. To handle something carelessly or ignorantly; tamper: Don't meddle with my phone!

[Middle English medlen, from Anglo-Norman medler, variant of Old French mesler, from Vulgar Latin *misculāre, to mix thoroughly, from Latin miscēre, to mix; see meik- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

meddler (mĕdlər, mĕdl-ər) n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices