'baldpated' is a compound formed from 'bald' (Old English 'bald') + 'pate' (Middle English 'pate' from Old French 'patte'), where 'bald' came to mean 'without hair' and 'pate' meant 'head'.

'bald' (Old English 'bald', originally with senses including 'bold') combined with Middle English 'pate' to form the compound 'bald-pated' in Early Modern English, which developed into the modern adjective 'baldpated'.

Initially, Old English 'bald' could carry senses like 'bold'; over time the meaning shifted to 'without hair', and the compound came to mean 'having a bald head'.