Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Strangle \Stran"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Strangled}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Strangling}.] [OF. estrangler, F. ['e]trangler, L.
   strangulare, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? a halter; and perhaps akin to E.
   string, n. Cf. {Strain}, {String}.]
   1. To compress the windpipe of (a person or animal) until
      death results from stoppage of respiration; to choke to
      death by compressing the throat, as with the hand or a
      rope.

            Our Saxon ancestors compelled the adulteress to
            strangle herself.                     --Ayliffe.

   2. To stifle, choke, or suffocate in any manner.

            Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, . . . And
            there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? --Shak.

   3. To hinder from appearance; to stifle; to suppress.
      ``Strangle such thoughts.'' --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

strangling
     n : the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the
         windpipe; "no evidence that the choking was done by the
         accused" [syn: {choking}, {strangulation}, {throttling}]