Muzzle

How to spell muzzle

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce muzzle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does muzzle mean?

1. nounA strap or guard fitted over an animal's nose and mouth to stop it biting or eating.
2. nounThe projecting nose and mouth of an animal such as a dog or horse.
3. nounThe open front end of the barrel of a gun, from which the projectile leaves.
4. verbTo prevent someone from speaking freely, or to fit a restraint over an animal's mouth.

Muzzle in a sentence

• noun

  The vet asked us to fit a muzzle before the examination began.

• noun

  The puppy pressed its damp muzzle against the cold window.

• noun

  Safety rules require that the muzzle always point toward the ground.

• verb

  Critics argued the new policy would muzzle the independent press.

• noun

  On the busy train the large dog wore a soft muzzle for safety.

• noun

  A white patch ran from the horse's muzzle to its forehead.

Where does muzzle come from?

Language of origin: French

Muzzle came into English in the late 1300s from the Old French musel, meaning the snout or projecting nose and mouth of an animal. That word descended from the medieval Latin musellum, a small form of musum, which also meant 'snout' and is the same root that gives us the word 'muzzle' for the open end of a gun barrel. The original sense was simply the animal's nose and jaws; from there it naturally extended to the strap or cage fastened over that part of a dog's face to stop it biting. By the 1500s the word was being used as a verb meaning to fit such a device, and soon afterward it took on the figurative sense of silencing a person or suppressing free speech. The doubled 'z' and the quiet final '-le' are the spelling traps here, since the word sounds like a single rolling syllable but hides two letters most writers can forget.

How the word is built

• muzz- (from Old French musel: snout)
• -le (diminutive/instrument suffix)