addle

• vt. 使腐坏；使混乱
• vi. 变质；变混乱
• adj. 腐坏的；糊涂的，昏乱的

来自古英语词。

addle (v.)

1712, from addle (n.) "urine, liquid filth," from Old English adela "mud, mire, liquid manure" (cognate with Old Swedish adel "urine," Middle Low German adel, Dutch aal "puddle").

Used in noun phrase addle egg (mid-13c.) "egg that does not hatch, rotten egg," literally "urine egg," a loan-translation of Latin ovum urinum, which is itself an erroneous loan-translation of Greek ourion oon "putrid egg," literally "wind egg," from ourios "of the wind" (confused by Roman writers with ourios "of urine," from ouron "urine"). Because of this usage, from c. 1600 the noun in English was taken as an adjective meaning "putrid," and thence given a figurative extension to "empty, vain, idle," also "confused, muddled, unsound" (1706). The verb followed a like course. Related: Addled; addling.

1. The object is to addle and not to elucidate.

其目的是为了混淆而不是为了阐明.

来自《简明英汉词典》

2. Eggs addle quickly in hot weather.

蛋在热天易坏.

来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3. The manager busied himself all day and got addle brained.

这位经理整天忙得昏头昏脑.

来自互联网

4. Why lying to see a book you can make eye addle?

躺着看书为什么会使眼睛变坏?

来自互联网

5. He is quite forgetful, and called an addle head by others.

他整天忘这忘那, 大家都叫他糊涂虫.

来自互联网