''addle pate'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''addle pate'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260606185347-00-⌔

addle pate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

addle pate (plural addle pates)

• (archaic) A foolish or dull-witted person.
  • ✤ Then he executed a war-dance, and at its close stepped before Crawford, regarded him for an instant, and croaked out:
    “Addle-pate! Addle-pate!”
    “Upon my word, I believe you are the foul fiend himself,” muttered Mark.¹
• (archaic) Such a person’s brain or mental faculties.
  • ✤ Am I to be ramshaklt out of the super nakullums in spite o’ my teeth? Yea and go softly! I crack the nut and you eat the kernel!
    I tellee once again you’ve an addle pate o’ your own! […] Squire Nincompoop!²
  • ✤ “Go to bed, and don’t bother your addle pate about your neighbours. Can’t a man cut up a few sticks without your coming to investigate?”³

Etymology

From addle (“confused”) +‎ pate (“head”).

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1882, Frank Lee Benedict, “Miss Alderly’s Law-Suit”, in Peterson’s Magazine, volumes 81-82, page 443: ↩

2. 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives: ↩

3. 1910, Grace S. Richmond, Red Pepper Burns: ↩

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