Past tense of gargle; to rinse the throat and mouth with liquid using air bubbled from the lungs.
From 'gargle,' which likely comes from French 'gargouiller' (to bubble/burble), possibly from onomatopoeia mimicking the gurgling sound. The '-ed' forms the regular past tense.
Gargling became a major health trend after germ theory was discovered—suddenly people realized liquids could kill bacteria in the throat, and doctors prescribed specific gargling solutions that were wildly popular in the 1900s.
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