addled
Addled (adj) means Bad, rotten; inviable, containing a dead embryo.
Etymology
From Middle English addled, adyld, equivalent to addle (“urine, liquid filth”) + -ed. Addle derives from Old English adel, adela (“mud, mire, liquid manure”), cognate with Old Swedish adel (“urine”), Middle Low German adel, Dutch aal (“manure”). Used in noun phrase addle egg (mid-13c.) “egg that does not hatch, rotten egg”, lit. “urine egg”, a calque of Latin ovum urinum, which is itself an erroneous calque of Ancient Greek οὔριον ᾠόν (oúrion ōión, “putrid egg”, literally “wind egg”), from οὔριος (oúrios, “of the wind”), from οὖρος (oûros, “fair wind”) (confused by Roman writers with οὔριος (oúrios, “of urine”), from οὖρον (oûron, “urine”)). Because of this usage, the noun in English was taken as an adjective from c. 1600, meaning “putrid”.
Rhymes for addled
See all rhymes for addled →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of addled?
"addled" (adj) means bad, rotten; inviable, containing a dead embryo.
What are the different meanings of addled?
"addled" has 3 main meanings: 1. Bad, rotten; inviable, containing a dead embryo; 2. Confused; mixed up; 3. Morbid, corrupt, putrid, or barren.