mangle

A hand-operated device with rollers, for wringing laundry.

Noun Caribbean, US

  1. Synonym of mangrove.

    1. Any of various trees of the genus Rhizophora, especially the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle).

    2. A forest of such trees.

    3. Preceded by a descriptive word: any of various shrubs or trees of genera other than Rhizophora which resemble plants of this genus in appearance and habitat.

Origin

Borrowed from Spanish mangle, mangue, probably from an Arawak language (such as Taíno), or a Cariban language.

Forms

mangles

Noun Entry 2

  1. A hand-operated device with rollers, for wringing laundry.

    Synonyms: mangler

  2. The mangle attached to wringer washing machines, often called the wringer.
    • There was a bright-red plastic baby-bath, a car tyre, a rusty mangle, and something that looked like a primitive version of a washing machine. - 1993, John Banville, Ghosts:

Origin

Ca. 1700, from Dutch mangel, from Early Modern German Mangel (15th c.), enhanced form (by analogy with other tool names in -el) of Middle High German mange, from Medieval Latin manga, manganum, from Ancient Greek μάγγανον (mánganon). Doublet of mangonel.

Forms

mangles

Derived

mangleman put through the mangle

Verb Entry 3

  1. To change, mutilate, or disfigure by cutting, tearing, rearranging, etc.
    • mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail - 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias...
    • c. 1703-20, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Very Young Lady on Her Marriage when they are disposed to mangle a play or a novel
  2. To modify (an identifier from source code) so as to produce a unique identifier for internal use by the compiler, etc.

Origin

From Middle English mangelen, manglen, from Anglo-Norman mangler, mahangler, frequentative of either Old French mangonner (“to cut to pieces”) or mahaigner (“to mutilate”), of Germanic origin, for which see mayhem. Alternate etymology derives mangle from Middle English *mankelen, a frequentative form of manken (“to mutilate”), from Old English *mancian, bemancian (“to maim”). More at mank.

Forms

mangles mangling mangled

Derived

bemangle manglement manglingly mingle-mangle mismangle unmangle

Verb archaic, transitive

  1. To wring laundry.

Forms

mangles mangling mangled