muff 1  (m ŭf)
Share:
v. muffed, muff·ing, muffs v.tr.1. To perform or handle clumsily or ineptly; bungle. See Synonyms at botch. 2. Sports To fail to make (a catch). v.intr. To perform a task clumsily or ineptly. n.1. A clumsy or bungled action. 2. Sports A failure to make a catch.
[Origin unknown.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
muff 2  (m ŭf)
Share:
n.1. A small cylindrical fur or cloth cover, open at both ends, in which the hands are placed for warmth. 2. A cluster of feathers on the side of the face of certain breeds of fowl. 3. Vulgar Slang The vulva.
[Dutch mof, from Middle Dutch moffel, from Old French mofle, mitten, from Medieval Latin muffula, perhaps of Germanic origin.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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.
This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.