Word of the Day

: January 3, 2025

addlepated

adjective AD-ul-pay-tud

What It Means

Someone described as addlepated is mixed-up or confused. Addlepated can also be used as synonym of eccentric.

// Some addlepated clerk confused our hotel reservation with that of another, similarly named, party.

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addlepated in Context

“Overwhelmed and a little at sea (so to speak), this viewer combed these scenes for cinematic clues to whatever the narrative takeaway would be. ... The cinematic stuff was misdirection, and the mission ends with an addlepated navigator getting promoted because of his mistakes.” — Lili Loofbourow, The Washington Post, 26. Jan 2024

Did You Know?

In this hectic, often confusing world of ours, it’s probably safe to say that even the sharpest thinkers—the wonks and eggheads among us—get a little addlepated from time to time. In fact, the idea of an addlepated egghead makes some etymological sense. Addlepated combines the words addle and pate. While the meaning of the somewhat rare noun pate (“head”) is straightforward, cracking open the adjective addle is where things get interesting. In Old English, the noun adela referred to filth, or to a filthy or foul-smelling place. In Middle English, adela came to be used as an adjective in the term adel eye, meaning “putrid egg.” For its first few centuries of adjectival use, and with various spellings, addle was used strictly for eggs, but in the 16th century it gained a figurative sense that, when applied disparagingly to people’s heads or brains, suggested the diminished or rotten condition of an addle (or addled) egg. Today, addle is often found in combination with words referring to one’s noggin, addlebrained, and addle-headed, and most common of all, addlepated.