\Muf"fle\ (m[u^]f"f'l), n.
The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; -- used esp.
of ruminants.

\Muf"fle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Muffled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Muffling}.] [Cf. F. moufle a mitten, LL. muffula, OD. moffel
a muff. See {Muff}.]
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. --South.
         The face lies muffled up within the garment.
                                               --Addison.
         He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes. --Dryden.
         Muffled up in darkness and superstition.
                                               --Arbuthnot.
2. To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound
   about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.
3. To wrap 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.

\Muf"fle\, v. i. [Cf. F. maffle, mumble, D. moffelen.]
To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.

\Muf"fle\, n. [F. moufle, prop., a mitten, from the
resemblance in shape. See {Muffle}, v. t., {Muff}.]
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. --Knight.