▪ I. mumble, n.
(ˈmʌmb(ə)l)
[f. mumble v.]
A mumbled indistinct utterance or sound.
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 20 Sept. 1/3 A series of mumbles and grunts. 1904 Kipling Traffics & Discov. 308 A mumble of bees and broken voices that might have been the doves. 1905 Sir F. Treves Other Side of Lantern iii. i. (1906) 193 The contented mumble of the river. |
▪ II. mumble, v.
(ˈmʌmb(ə)l)
Forms: 4 momele, 5 momell, -(b)yll, 5–6 momble, mumbyll, 6 mumbil, -bell, Sc. mumbill, mummyll, 6–8 Sc. mumle, 7 Sc. mummil, 6– mumble.
[ME. momele, frequentative formation on mum int.; cf. Du. mommelen, mummelen, G. mummeln, Sw. mumla, Da. mumle, and mamble.]
1. intr. To speak indistinctly, or with the lips partly closed; to mutter. In early use: † To babble.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 21 Of þis Matere I mihte Momele [B-text mamely] ful longe. c 1440 York Myst. xxvii. 106 My fellows momellis þame emang. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 42 He mumbled soft, but would not all his silence breake. 1683 Kennett tr. Erasm. on Folly 107 The Auditors all wondred and some mumbled to themselves. 1879 Browning Halbert & Hob 64 So tottered, muttered, mumbled he, till he died. 1902 A. Lang Hist. Scot. II. xiii. 352 He heard the old woman mumbling to herself. |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1842 Emerson Lect. Transcend. Wks. (Bohn) II. 291 Church and old book mumble and ritualize to an unheeding..mind. 1893 Baring-Gould Cheap-Jack Z. I. 9 The organ was still mumbling and tooting. |
2. trans. To utter in subdued or indistinct tones. Sometimes with mixture of sense 4.
| c 1440 Jacob's Well xxiii. 154 It are þei, þat whanne þei are wrothe..momyll þe deuelys bedys. 1530 Palsgr. 642/1 He mumbleth his wordes, byd hym speke out playnly. 1626 L. Owen Spec. Jesuit. 17 By one meanes or other, he learned to mumble a Masse. 1748 J. Mason Elocut. 10 When a person mumbles, or (as we say) clips or swallows his Words. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 13 July, He affirmed, that we mumbled our speech with our lips and teeth. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vii, Tom mumbled something to the effect that it was by no means necessary. |
b. With † forth, out, over, † up.
| 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 132 Mumblyng vp a certayn nombur of wordys no thyng vnderstonde. a 1555 Lyndesay Tragedie 385 Thay be clokit vp in clerkis arraye,..And mummyll ouer ane pair of maglit matenis. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xxi. 110 b, [They] goe to bathe..mumbling out certaine long prayers. 1658 tr. Porta's Nat. Magic xx. 407 Then they mumble forth some words. 1787 F. Burney Diary 18 Jan., I..mumbled out my own little compliment. 1834 Greville Mem. 1 Dec. (1875) III. xxv. 166 The priest mumbles over the prayers. |
† c. To whisper, utter furtively. Obs.
| c 1539 Hen. VIII in Fiddes Wolsey ii. (1726) 140, I dare be bolder with you then a great many that mumbell it abroad. |
3. intr. To eat in a slow, ineffective manner; to chew or bite softly, as with toothless gums.
| c 1325 Pol. Songs (1839) 238 The knave crommeth is crop Er the cok crawe; He momeleth ant moccheth Ant marreth is mawe. 1530 Palsgr. 642/1 Se yonder olde trot howe she mumbleth:..comment elle masche en belyn. 1561 J. Awdelay Frat. Vacab. (1869) 8 Sitting as it were alone, mumblyng on a crust. 1620 Middleton Chaste Maid i. i. 109, I have teeth, sir; I need not mumble yet this forty years. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) IV. v. 21 Take ye that thistle to mumble upon. 1833 Marryat P. Simple i, As proud, and, alas! as unconscious as the calf with gilded horns, who plays and mumbles with the flowers of the garland. |
† b. fig.
| a 1651 Calderwood Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) III. 302 George Bishop of Murrey was a whole winter mummilling upon his papers, and had not his sermon per cœur when all was done. |
4. trans. To bite or chew with toothless gums, or without making much use of the teeth.
| 1591 Lyly Endym. iv. ii. 55 Tis a stately occupation to stande..in a cold Morning, and to haue his nose bytten with frost, before hys baite be mumbled with a Fish. 1664 G. Etherege Comical Revenge iii. iv, My Master pick'd him Up before a Puppit-show, mumbling a half-penny Custard. 1693 Dryden Juvenal x. (1697) 261 And Gums unarm'd to mumble Meat in vain. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) III. 73 They're able enough to mumble a Pudding. 1826 Scott Woodst. xxviii, A child mumbling ginger-bread. 1847 Lytton Lucretia ii. Prol., His glove fell to the ground, and his spaniel mumbled it into shreds. |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1695 Congreve Love for L. Prol. 35 As Asses Thistles, Poets mumble Wit, And dare not bite, for fear of being bit. 1864 Lowell Fireside Trav. 291 The sea laps and mumbles the soft roots of the hills. 1883 A. Forbes in Fortn. Rev. 1 Nov. 673 A victim which she [France] was to be allowed only to mumble, not utterly to rend. |
c. transf. To fondle with the lips.
| 1668 G. Etherege She Would if She Could i. ii, A right bred greyhound can as well forbear running after a hare..as I can mumbling a pretty wench. 1695 Congreve Love for L. v. i, Give me t'other hand, and I'll mumble 'em and kiss 'em till they melt in my mouth. 1884 Reade Jilt 7 She drew away the hand he was mumbling. |
† 5. To maul, handle roughly, maltreat. Also, to bungle, handle clumsily. Obs.
| 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. v. i, He has mumbled his nose, that 'tis as big as a great cod-piece. 1638 ― Lady's Trial ii. ii, 'Tis said..that a' has firk'd And mumbled the roguy Turks. 1672 Wycherley Love in Wood iii. iv, I have beat him out of the pit. I do so mumble these prating, censorious fellows they call wits, when I meet with them! 1709 Steele Tatler No. 50 ¶11, [I] shall leave you to be mumbled by the learned and very ingenious Author of a late Book. 1721–2 Amherst Terræ Fil. No. 44 (1754) 233 This was..a circumstance..that might be handsomely touch'd upon in a dedication. Let us see how our bungler mumbles it. 1753 H. Walpole Let. to Conway 24 May, Mr. Fox mumbled the Chancellor and his lawyers. |
† b. to mumble up: to tumble together. Obs.
| 1673 Ray Journ. Low C., etc. 496 Mercers never tie up anything they sell, and if they allow paper, they only rudely mumble up the commodities in it. |
6. Cookery. (See quot.)
| 1728 E. Smith Compl. Housew. (ed. 2) 12 To mumble Rabbets and Chickens... When they are half boiled..tear the Flesh from the Bones of the Rabbet in small flakes, and put it into the Stew-pan again with a very little of the Liquor it was boiled in,..when 'tis enough shake in a little Flour, and thicken it up with Butter. Serve it on Sippets. 1879 [see mumbled a. 2]. |
† 7. Comb., as mumblecrust, in plays, the surname or nickname of a toothless person or a beggar; mumble-matins, a nickname for a Romish priest; mumble-news, a tale-bearer. Obs.
| a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 20 Madge Mumblecrust. 1560 Pilkington Expos. Aggeus (1562) 41 Howe can they be learned, havinge none to teache them but Sir John Mumble-matins? 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 464 Some carry-tale,..Some mumble-newes,..Told our intents before. 1603 Dekker & Chettle Grissil iv. ii. (Shaks. Soc.) 66 Beggar. Jack Mumblecrust, steal no penny loaves. |