man·gle¹ (măng'gəl)
tr.v., -gled, -gling, -gles.

1. To mutilate or disfigure by battering, hacking, cutting, or tearing. See synonyms at batter¹.
2. To ruin or spoil through ineptitude or ignorance: mangle a speech.

[Middle English manglen, from Anglo-Norman mangler, frequentative of Old French mangoner, to cut to bits, possibly akin to mahaignier, to maim. See mayhem.]

mangler man'gler n.

man·gle² (măng'gəl)
n.

1. A machine for pressing fabrics by means of heated rollers.
2. Chiefly British. A clothes wringer.

tr.v., -gled, -gling, -gles.
To press with a mangle.

[Dutch mangel, from German, from Middle High German, diminutive of mange, mangonel, from Late Latin manganum, catapult. See mangonel.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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