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I am bewildered, you might even say baffled, by the competing claims to the origin of this word. Is it from the German Baff machen, meaning to flabbergast? Or "bafouer" from French for abuse or hoodwink? Or Scottish "bauchle", to disgrace publicly. Personally I like that this was a sailor's term for those winds that blow variously. If you have attempted to sail a boat in winds of that nature, you will understand how perplexing that can be.

Well my flabber is aghast that you didn't consider baffle as a wall, a windbreaker, or a sound shaper. Could the noun have come before the verb?

Dang. I intended to include that sense. Thanks for pointing it out.