Muddle
late Middle English (in the sense ‘wallow in mud’): perhaps from Middle Dutch moddelen, frequentative of modden ‘dabble in mud’; compare with mud. The sense ‘confuse’ was initially associated with alcoholic drink (late 17th century), giving rise to ‘busy oneself in a confused way’ and ‘jumble up’ (mid 19th century).
wiktionary
From Middle Dutch moddelen(“to make muddy”), from modde, mod(“ mud”) (Modern Dutch modder). Compare German Kuddelmuddel.
etymonline
muddle (v.)
1590s, "destroy the clarity of" (a transferred sense); literal sense ("to bathe in mud") is from c. 1600; perhaps frequentative formation from mud, or from Dutch moddelen "to make (water) muddy," from the same Proto-Germanic source. Sense of "to make muddy" is from 1670s; that of "make confused, bewilder" is recorded by 1680s. Meaning "to bungle" is from 1885. Related: Muddled; muddling.
muddle (n.)
"intellectual confusion, bewilderment," 1818, from muddle (v.).
