Camouflage
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈkæ.mÉ™.ËŒflÉ‘ËÊ’/, /ˈkæ.mÅ.ËŒflÉ‘ËÊ’/
- Hyphenation: cam + ou + flage
Origin
Borrowing from fr {{2}} camouflage, from camoufler ("to veil, disguise"), alteration (due to camouflet ("") "smoke blown in one's face") of Italian camuffare ("to muffle the head"), from ca- (from Italian capo ("") "head") + muffare ("to muffle"), from Medieval Latin muffula, muffla ("muff"), from Frankish *molfell ("soft garment made of hide") from *mol ("softened, forworn") (akin to Old High German molawēn ("") "to soften", Middle High German molwic "soft") + *fell ("hide, skin"), from Proto-Germanic *fellą ("skin, film, fleece"), from Proto-Indo-European *pel(e)(w)-, *plē(w)- ("skin, hide"). Akin to Old High German fel ("fell, skin, hide"), Old English fell ("fell, skin, hide").
Alternate etymology traces the Italian and Medieval Latin words to Middle High German mouwe, mÅwe ("sleeve") (German Muff ("") "muff", Dutch mouw ("") "sleeve") from Proto-Germanic *mawwÅ ("sleeve") + fell "skin". More at mulch, fell.
Full definition of camouflage
Noun
camouflage
(plural camouflages)- A disguise or covering up.
- The act of disguising.
- (military) The use of natural or artificial material on personnel, objects, or tactical positions with the aim of confusing, misleading, or evading the enemy.(JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).
- (textiles) A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.
- (biology) Resemblance of an organism to its surroundings for avoiding detection
- 2013, William E. Conner, An Acoustic Arms Race, Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible†to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close...above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them. Many insects probably use this strategy, which is a close analogy to crypsis in the visible world—camouflage and other methods for blending into one’s visual background.
- Clothes made from camouflage fabric, for concealment in combat or hunting.