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stifle

UK/ˈstaɪfl̩/ US/ˈstaɪf(ə)l/ uncommon rare
verb (4) noun (1)

verb

1.

conceal or hide

  • “smother a yawn”
  • “muffle one”
  • “;”
Synonyms
2.

smother or suppress

  • “Stifle your curiosity”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of

  • “The foul air was slowly suffocating the children”
Synonyms
4.

be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen

  • “The child suffocated under the pillow”
Synonyms

noun

1.

joint between the femur and tibia in a quadruped; corresponds to the human knee

Synonyms

Origin

The verb is derived from Late Middle English stuflen (“to have difficulty breathing due to heat, stifle; to suffocate by drowning, drown”) [and other forms]; further etymology uncertain. Also found in Middle English forstyflyd (“stifled, choked”, past participle). Perhaps derived from Middle English stuffen (“to kill by suffocation; to stifle from heat; to extinguish, suppress (body heat, breath, humour, etc.); to deprive a plant of the conditions necessary for growth, choke”) + -len (frequentative suffix). Stuffen is derived from Old French estofer, estouffer (“to choke, strangle, suffocate; (figuratively) to inhibit, prevent”) [and other forms] (modern French étouffer), a variant of estoper, estuper (“to block, plug, stop up; to stiffen, thicken”) (modern French étouper (“to caulk”)), influenced by estofer (“to pad, stuff; to upholster”) (modern French étoffer). Estoper is derived from Vulgar Latin *stuppāre, from Latin stuppa (“coarse flax, tow”) (as a stuffing material; from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē) (compare στυππεῖον (stuppeîon)); probably from Pre-Greek) + -āre. According to the Oxford English Dictionary a derivation from Old Norse stífla (“to dam; to c...

Phrases

  • stifle bone
  • stifle joint

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.