First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
1garble
verb gar·ble \ˈgär-bəl\
: to cause (a word, name, message, etc.) to be unclear or confusing
gar·bledgar·bling \-b(ə-)liŋ\
Full Definition of GARBLE
transitive verb
1
archaic : cull 1
2
: to sift impurities from
3
a : to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning <garble a story> b : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment
— gar·bler \-b(ə-)lər\ noun
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Origin of GARBLE
Middle English garbelen, from Old Italian garbellare to sift, from Arabic gharbala, from Late Latin cribellare, from cribellum sieve; akin to Latin cernere to sift — more at certain
Related to GARBLE
2garble
noun
Definition of GARBLE
1
: the impurities removed from spices in sifting
2
: an act or an instance of garbling
First Known Use of GARBLE
1502
GARBLING Defined for Kids
garble
verb gar·ble \ˈgär-bəl\
gar·bledgar·bling
Definition of GARBLE for Kids
: to change or twist the meaning or sound of <He garbled the message.>
Word History of GARBLE
At first the word garble meant “to sift” or “to sort or pick out.” If you pick out a few misleading parts of a message and report only those parts, you distort the message, and so garble came to mean “to distort.” It is the meaning “sift,” however, that reflects the origin of garble. The English word garble came from an old Italian verb garbellare that meant “to sift.” This word came in turn from an Arabic word gharbala that meant “sieve.” The Arabs took this word ultimately from a Latin word cribellum that meant “sieve.”
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