addle pate
"addle-pate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“addle pate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A foolish or dull-witted person.
Corpus desk
Index EN-addle-pate · addle pate · English
addle pate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | addle pate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “addle pate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
addle pate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for addle pate in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”). The correct English form is addle pate, spelled A-D-D-L-E- -P-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1A foolish or dull-witted person.
- 2Such a person’s brain or mental faculties.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how addle pate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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.
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!
Etymology
From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.