Main Entry: ¹gar·ble

Pronunciation: \ˈgär-bəl\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): gar·bled; gar·bling \-b(ə-)liŋ\

Etymology: 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

Date: 15th century

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