Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
mangle 1[mang-guh l] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin verb (used with object), man·gled, man·gling.
- to injure severely, disfigure, or mutilate by cutting, slashing, or crushing: The coat sleeve was mangled in the gears of the machine.
- to spoil; ruin; mar badly: to mangle a text by careless typesetting.
Origin of mangle 1 1350–1400; Middle English Anglo-French mangler, perhaps dissimilated variant of Old French mangonner to mangle; akin to mangonel Related formsman·gler, nounSynonyms for mangle 1. See maim. 2. deface; destroy. Examples from the Web for mangler Contemporary Examples of mangler
“Trucks” and “The Mangler” are Arthur C. Clarke specials: machines on the rampage.
The Daily Beast
October 31, 2010
Historical Examples of mangler
Mrs. Tramore had got rid of Mr. Mangler, and Bertram Jay was in other quarters.
The Real Thing and Other Tales
Henry James
I was not a “mangler,” but I went in and asked to see the boss.
Mrs. John Van Vorst and Marie Van Vorst
Mr. Mangler did nothing but say how charming he thought his hostess of the Sunday, and what a tremendously jolly visit he had had.
The Real Thing and Other Tales
Henry James
Mr. Mangler sat down; he alluded with artless resentment to the way, in July, the door of his friends had been closed to him.
The Real Thing and Other Tales
Henry James
She had to reflect that one does what one can and that Mr. Mangler probably thought he was delicate.
The Real Thing and Other Tales
Henry James
British Dictionary definitions for mangler mangle 1 verb (tr)
- to mutilate, disfigure, or destroy by cutting, crushing, or tearing
- to ruin, spoil, or mar
Derived Formsmangler, nounmangled, adjectiveWord Origin for mangle C14: from Norman French mangler, probably from Old French mahaignier to maim mangle 2 noun
- Also called: wringer a machine for pressing or drying wet textiles, clothes, etc, consisting of two heavy rollers between which the cloth is passed
verb (tr)
- to press or dry in a mangle
Word Origin for mangle C18: from Dutch mangel, ultimately from Late Latin manganum. See mangonel Word Origin and History for mangler mangle n.
clothes-pressing machine, 1774, from Dutch mangel, apparently short for mangelstok, from stem of mangelen to mangle, from Middle Dutch mange, ultimately from root of mangonel.
mangle v.
“to mutilate,” c.1400, from Anglo-French mangler, frequentative of Old French mangoner “cut to pieces,” of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with Old French mahaignier “to maim, mutilate, wound” (see maim). Meaning “to mispronounce (words), garble” is from 1530s. Related: Mangled; mangling.