mangle

Etymology 1

From Middle English mangelen, from Anglo-Norman mangler, mahangler, frequentative of either Old French mangonner (“to cut to pieces”) or mahaigner (“to mutilate”), of Germanic origin, for which see mayhem. Alternate etymology derives mangle from Middle English *mankelen, a frequentative form of manken (“to mutilate”), from Old English mancian, bemancian (“to maim”). More at mank.

verb

1. (transitive) To change, mutilate, or disfigure by cutting, tearing, rearranging, etc.
   c. 1703-20, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Very Young Lady on Her Marriage when they are disposed to mangle a play or a novel
2. (transitive, computing) To modify (an identifier from source code) so as to produce a unique identifier for internal use by the compiler, etc.

Etymology 2

Ca. 1700, from Dutch mangel, from Early Modern German Mangel (15th c.), enhanced form (by analogy with other tool names in -el) of Middle High German mange, from Medieval Latin manga, manganum, from Ancient Greek μάγγανον (mánganon). Doublet of mangonel.

noun

1. A hand-operated device with rollers, for wringing laundry.
2. The mangle attached to wringer washing machines, often called the wringer.
   There was a bright-red plastic baby-bath, a car tyre, a rusty mangle, and something that looked like a primitive version of a washing machine. 1993, John Banville, Ghosts

verb

1. (transitive, archaic) To wring laundry.

Etymology 3

noun

1. A mangrove (tree).