Crushed, twisted, or torn into a messy and unrecognizable shape, usually by force or impact.
From Middle English 'manglen,' possibly from Old Norse 'mangla' or related to 'mangle' meaning to damage. The word originally referred to the mangle (a pressing device for laundry), then evolved to mean anything badly crushed or twisted.
The word 'mangled' appears in accident reports and forensic descriptions, but it originally came from laundry equipment—showing how everyday household objects gave us our language for describing destruction.
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