Related Searches
Nearby Words
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
1.
to make or become confused.
2.
to make or become rotten, as eggs.
adjective
3.
mentally confused; muddled.
4.
rotten: addle eggs.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Addle
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English adel rotten, Old English adela liquid, filth; cognate with Middle Low German adele liquid manure
before 1000; Middle English adel rotten, Old English adela liquid, filth; cognate with Middle Low German adele liquid manure
Related forms
un·ad·dled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To addle
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
addle
1712, from addle (n.) "urine, liquid filth," from O.E. adela "mud, mire, liquid manure" (cognate with O.Swed. adel "urine," M.L.G. adel, Du. aal "puddle"). Used in noun phrase addle egg (mid-13c.) "egg that does not hatch, rotten egg," lit. "urine egg," a loan-transl. of L. ovum urinum, which is itself
EXPANDan erroneous loan-transl. of Gk. ourion oon "putrid egg," lit. "wind egg," from ourios "of the wind" (confused by Roman writers with ourios "of urine," from ouron "urine"). Because of this usage, the noun in Eng. was taken as an adj. from c.1600, meaning "putrid," and thence given a fig. extension to "empty, vain, idle," also "confused, muddled, unsound" (1706). The verb followed.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.