adjective
addle
Rotten or spoiled, especially of an egg.
The farmer finds an addle egg among the fresh ones.
Etymology
Old English adela meant filth or liquid refuse. Its association with foul matter survives in the older adjective for a rotten egg, before the familiar figurative use for a confused mind.
More examples
- An addle egg will not produce a chick.
- The old account describes a nest filled with addle eggs.
- She removes the addle eggs before checking the remaining clutch.