Muzzle
Muzzle , noun
[Old English mosel, Old French musel, French museau muzzle or snout, Late Latin musellus, from musus, morsus. See Muse, v. i., and compare Morsel.]
1.
The projecting mouth and nose of a quadruped, as of a horse; a snout.
2.
The mouth of a thing; the end for entrance or discharge; as, the muzzle of a gun.
3.
A fastening or covering (as a band or cage) for the mouth of an animal, to prevent eating or vicious biting.
With golden muzzles all their mouths were bound
Collocations (1)
Muzzle , transitive verb
[French museler.]
1.
To bind the mouth of; to fasten the mouth of, so as to prevent biting or eating; hence, figuratively, to bind; to sheathe; to restrain from speech or action; as, the dictator muzzled all the newspapers.
My dagger muzzled.
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
2.
To fondle with the closed mouth. [Obsolete] — L'Estrange
Muzzle , intransitive verb
To bring the mouth or muzzle near.
The bear muzzles and smells to him.