Camouflage
late 19th century (in sense ‘disguise, concealment’): French, from camoufler ‘to disguise’ (originally thieves' slang), from Italian camuffare ‘disguise, deceive’, perhaps by association with French camouflet ‘whiff of smoke in the face’. The military sense originated during the First World War.
wiktionary
Borrowed from French 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”). This Medieval Latin, from which there is also English muffle, is either derived from a 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”), or, an alternate etymology traces it to a Frankish *muffël(“a muff, wrap, envelope”) composed of *mauwa(“sleeve, wrap”) from Proto-Germanic *mawwō(“sleeve”) + *fell(“skin, hide”) from Proto-Germanic *fellą(“skin, film, fleece”).
etymonline
camouflage
1917, noun, verb, and adjective, from French camoufler, Parisian slang, "to disguise," from Italian camuffare "to disguise," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps a contraction of capo muffare "to muffle the head." Probably altered in French by influence of French camouflet "puff of smoke, smoke puffed into a sleeper's face" (itself of unknown origin) on the notion of "blow smoke in someone's face." The British navy in World War I called it dazzle-painting.
Since the war started the POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has published photographs of big British and French field pieces covered with shrubbery, railway trains "painted out" of the landscape, and all kinds of devices to hide the guns, trains, and the roads from the eyes of enemy aircraft.
Until recently there was no one word in any language to explain this war trick. Sometimes a whole paragraph was required to explain this military practice. Hereafter one word, a French word, will save all this needless writing and reading. Camouflage is the new word, and it means "fooling the enemy." [Popular Science Monthly, August 1917]
