mangle
verb
[ ˈmaŋɡ(ə)l ]
• destroy or severely damage by tearing or crushing.
• "the car was mangled almost beyond recognition"
Similar:
mutilate,
maim,
disfigure,
damage,
injure,
crush,
crumple,
hack,
cut about,
lacerate,
tear apart,
rend,
chop (up),
butcher,
deform,
maul,
wreck,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French mahangler, perhaps a frequentative of mahaignier ‘maim’.
mangle
noun
• a machine having two or more rollers turned by a handle, between which wet laundry is squeezed to remove excess moisture.
mangle
verb
• press or squeeze with a mangle.
• "the hard household labour often involved pounding clothes in a dolly tub and mangling them with a hand wringer"
Origin:
late 17th century: from Dutch mangel, from mangelen ‘to mangle’, from medieval Latin mango, manga, from Greek manganon ‘axis, engine of war’.
