Addle
/ˈæd.əl/noun
To confuse, muddle, or make something go bad; as a noun, also used for liquid waste or soft, rotten eggs.
Did you know?In Old English, related forms referred to liquid filth or stale urine, and later the word was applied to eggs that had gone bad, so “addle-brained” literally grew out of decay imagery.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
ædela
“filth, liquid waste; something foul or corrupt”
Middle English
ME
adelen
“to make rotten or putrid; to corrupt”
15th-16th Century
English
addle
“to make eggs rotten or unhatched; to spoil”
16th-17th Century
English
addle-brained
“confused, muddled-minded”
Modern English
English
addle
“to confuse, muddle, or become mentally clouded”