riddle

play

noun rid·dle \ ˈri-dᵊl \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of riddle

1 :a mystifying, misleading, or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or guessed :conundrum, enigma

2 :something or someone difficult to understand

riddle was our Word of the Day on 11/24/2016. Hear the podcast!

riddle Me This

It is not unusual for words to acquire and lose meanings over time, and riddle is no exception. Old English speakers—who had a variety of spellings for riddle, including hrædels, redelse, and rædelse—used the word as we do today to describe a question posed as a problem to be solved or guessed, but they also used it in the now obsolete senses of "counsel," "consideration," "debate," "conjecture," "interpretation," "imagination," and "example." (Not surprisingly, the Old English source of riddle is a cousin to Old English rǣdan, meaning "to interpret" or "to advise.") By the beginning of the 15th century riddle acquired the sense of "a puzzling or perplexing thing," and in the 17th century it also came to refer to "a puzzling or enigmatic person or being."

Origin and Etymology of riddle

Middle English redels, ridel, from Old English rǣdelse opinion, conjecture, riddle; akin to Old English rǣdan to interpret — more at read

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of riddle

mystery, problem, enigma, riddle, puzzle mean something which baffles or perplexes. mystery applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less strictly to whatever resists or defies explanation.

- the mystery of the stone monoliths

problem applies to a question or difficulty calling for a solution or causing concern.

- problems created by high technology

enigma applies to utterance or behavior that is very difficult to interpret.

- his suicide remains an enigma

riddle suggests an enigma or problem involving paradox or apparent contradiction.

- the riddle of the reclusive pop star

puzzle applies to an enigma or problem that challenges ingenuity for its solution.

- the thief's motives were a puzzle for the police

riddle

verb

Definition of riddle

riddled; riddling play \ˈrid-liŋ, ˈri-dᵊl-iŋ\

intransitive verb

:to speak in or propound riddles

transitive verb

1 :to find the solution of :explain

2 :to set a riddle for :puzzle

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riddler

play \ˈrid-lər, ˈri-dᵊl-ər\ noun

First Known Use of riddle

1571

riddle

noun

Definition of riddle

:a coarse sieve

Origin and Etymology of riddle

Middle English ridel, going back to Old English hriddel (attested once), alteration (by dissimilation or suffix substitution) of hridder, hrīder, going back to Germanic *hrīdra- (whence also Old Saxon hrīdra "sieve," Old High German rītera), going back to Indo-European *kreu̯-dhro- or *kreu̯-tro- (whence Latin crībrum "sieve," Old Irish críathar, Old Welsh cruitr "winnowing fan"), from *kreu̯(h1)- "sift, separate" + *-dhro-, *-tro-, suffixes of instrument — more at ¹certain

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year