fuddle
[fuhd-l]
- to muddle or confuse: a jumble of sounds to fuddle the senses.
- to make drunk; intoxicate.
- to tipple.
- a confused state; muddle; jumble.
Origin of fuddle
First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fuddle
Historical Examples
You'll give a body a furlough, by the way of blowing off the fuddle he has on hand?
An OutcastF. Colburn Adams
One day Mr. Kordé had drunk himself into an unusual state of fuddle.
The Day of WrathMaurus Jkai
But there is no doubt that the lion of the evening was—the “fuddle.”
The Walrus HuntersR.M. Ballantyne
Thee-ing and thou-ing till it is enough to fuddle a sober man's wits.
The Great QuestCharles Boardman Hawes
Nazinred and Mozwa had never seen anything of the kind before, or heard the strains of a “fuddle.”
The Walrus HuntersR.M. Ballantyne
fuddle
- (tr; often passive) to cause to be confused or intoxicated
- (intr) to drink excessively; tipple
- a muddled or confused state
Word Origin
C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for fuddle
v.
1580s, originally "to get drunk," later "to confuse as though with drink" (c.1600), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Low German fuddeln "work in a slovenly manner (as if drunk)," from fuddle "worthless cloth." The more common derivative befuddle appeared 1887. Related: Fuddled; fuddling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper