Etymology

garble

G2A1R1B3L1E1

Today it means: To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose not intended by the original author; to mutilate; to pervert. Full definition →

Middle English garbelen ← Anglo-Norman garbeler ← Medieval Latin garbellare
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromغَرْبَلَ“to sift”
  2. Medieval Latin · derived fromgarbellare
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromgarbeler“to sift”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromgarbelen
  5. English todaygarble

From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.