Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
MUDDLE
I. verb (muddled; muddling)
Etymology: probably from obsolete Dutch moddelen, from Middle Dutch, from modde mud; akin to Middle Low German mudde
Date: 1676
transitive verb to make turbid or muddy, to befog or stupefy especially with liquor, to mix confusedly, to make a mess of ; bungle , intransitive verb to think or act in a confused aimless way, muddler noun
II. noun
Date: circa 1818
a state of especially mental confusion, a confused mess, muddly adjective