garble

Etymology

From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”).

verb

1. To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert
   to garble a quotation
   to garble an account
   In a word, as the whole relation is carefully garbled of all the levity and looseness that was in it, so it all applied, and with the utmost care, to virtuous and religious uses. None can, without being guilty of manifest injustice, cast any reproach upon it, or upon our design in publishing it. 1722, Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, The Author's Preface
2. To make false by mutilation or addition [from 17th c.]
   The editor garbled the story.
3. (obsolete) To sift or bolt, to separate the fine or valuable parts of from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt [14th–19th c.]
   to garble spices

noun

1. Confused or unintelligible speech.
   The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static. 1976, Boating (volume 40, numbers 1-2, page 152)
2. (obsolete) Refuse; rubbish.
3. (obsolete) mutilation
   Did not the lady smile upon the garble 1808, Peter Pindar, letter to Joseph Nollekens
4. (obsolete) Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.