Garble is a verb meaning to sift impurities from something, or to alter or distort something so as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning. It comes from Late Latin "cribellare" (to sift), via Arabic "gharbala."
Garble es un verbo que significa tamizar impurezas de algo, o alterar o distorsionar algo para crear una impresión errónea o cambiar el significado. Proviene del latín tardío "cribellare" (tamizar), a través del árabe "gharbala".
| Word | garble |
|---|---|
| Date | August 9, 2017 |
| Type | verb |
| Syllables | GAR-bul |
| Etymology | Garble developed from Late Latin cribellare, a verb meaning "to sift." Arabic speakers borrowed cribellare as gharbala, and the Arabic word passed into Old Italian as garbellare; both of these words also meant "to sift." When the word first entered Middle English as garbelen, its meaning stayed close to the original; it meant "to sort out the best." But that sort of sifting can cause a distortion, and in early Modern English garble came to mean "to distort the sound or meaning of." |
| Examples | The best man was nervous and garbled the inspirational quote at the end of his speech. "Some calls are garbled, making it difficult for dispatchers to understand the caller." — Joe Wilson, quoted in The Cleveland Daily Banner, 5 June 2017 |
| Definition | 1 : to sift impurities from 2 a : to alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning b : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment |
Tags: wordoftheday::verb
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