boggle

views updated May 29 2018

bog·gle / ˈbägəl/ • v. [intr.] inf. (of a person or a person's mind) be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something: the mind boggles at the spectacle. ∎  [tr.] cause (a person or a person's mind) to be astonished in such a way: the inflated salary of a CEO boggles the mind

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

boggle

views updated May 14 2018

boggle start with fright (formerly often of horses) XVI; demur, hesitate XVII. prob. f. dial. boggle (see BOGEY) as if orig. ‘to see a boggle or spectre’.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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