- jumble (v.)
- 1520s, "to move confusedly" (intransitive), perhaps coined on model of stumble, tumble, etc., and onomatopoeic or felt as suggestive of the action indicated. Transitive meaning "mix in a confused mass" is from 1540s. In 17c. it was yet another euphemism for "have sex with" (a sense first attested 1580s). Related: Jumbled; jumbling.
- jumble (n.)
- "a confused mixture," 1660s, from jumble (v.). Jumble-sale is from 1931. The word meaning "type of thin, crisp cake" (1610s) is probably unrelated.
