| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| baffle |
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| SYLLABICATION: | baf·fle |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b f  l |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles
1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie. 2. To impede the force or movement of. | | NOUN: | 1. A usually static device that regulates the flow of a fluid or light. 2. A partition that prevents interference between sound waves in a loudspeaker. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Perhaps blend of Scottish Gaelic bauchle, to denounce, revile publicly, and French bafouer, to ridicule. | | OTHER FORMS: | baffle·ment —NOUN
baffler —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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