aberdevine
n. C2 Proficiency ab·erdevine
n. a very old word for a person who is a fool or a simpleton. It is mostly used in old stories or by people who want to sound very old-fashioned.
n. a fool or a simpleton.
The old man was called an aberdevine by the villagers.
In the old ballad, the hero is tricked by an aberdevine who cannot see through his lies.
The manuscript contains several archaic terms, including 'aberdevine', which the editor notes was once used to describe a person of low wit or a gullible fool.
Attested since the mid 1700s, of obscure origin. Richard Coates suggests that it may derive from Welsh aderyn and draenog with substantial phonological modifications. (The alternative form aber-de-vine shows re-interpretation as a French compound with de.)