riddle1

[rid-l] /ˈrɪd l/
noun
1.
a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.
2.
a puzzling question, problem, or matter.
3.
a puzzling thing or person.
4.
any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.
verb (used without object), riddled, riddling.
5.
to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English redel, redels (noun), Old English rǣdels(e) counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle (rǣd(an) to counsel, rede + -els(e) deverbal noun suffix) with loss of -s- in ME through confusion with the plural form of the noun suffix -el -le (cf. burial); cognate with German Rätsel, Dutch raadsel
Synonyms
1. See puzzle.

riddle2

[rid-l] /ˈrɪd l/
verb (used with object), riddled, riddling.
1.
to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve:
to riddle the target.
2.
to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.):
a government riddled with graft.
3.
to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks:
to riddle a person's reputation.
4.
to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.
noun
5.
a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.
Origin
before 1100; (noun) Middle English riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder; cognate with German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum sieve; (v.) Middle English ridlen to sift, derivative of the noun
Examples from the web for riddle
  • In this lesson, students solve a riddle about the appendix and learn about the paradox surrounding this organ.
  • Neuroscientists and philosophers argue fiercely about how to solve the riddle and whether it is even solvable.
  • What she had stumbled upon was rare indeed: a riddle in plain sight.
  • There's an old riddle which involves a frog trying to get across a room, or something.
  • It does, however, leave another riddle for perplexed parents deciphering the system.
  • So if someone wanted to know their future, they'd first have to figure out what her riddle meant.
  • She answers this riddle about our furry friends' strange behavior.
  • Others also have attempted to put this riddle to bed.
  • The answer to the age-old riddle is biologically obvious.
  • Geologists, chemists, astronomers and biologists are as stumped as ever by the riddle of life.
British Dictionary definitions for riddle

riddle1

/ˈrɪdəl/
noun
1.
a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum
2.
a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma
verb
3.
to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)
4.
(intransitive) to speak in riddles
Derived Forms
riddler, noun
Word Origin
Old English rǣdelle, rǣdelse, from rǣd counsel; related to Old Saxon rādislo, German Rätsel

riddle2

/ˈrɪdəl/
verb (transitive)
1.
(usually foll by with) to pierce or perforate with numerous holes: riddled with bullets
2.
to damage or impair
3.
to put through a sieve; sift
4.
to fill or pervade: the report was riddled with errors
noun
5.
a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc
Derived Forms
riddler, noun
Word Origin
Old English hriddel a sieve, variant of hridder; related to Latin crībrum sieve
Word Origin and History for riddle
n.

"A word game or joke, comprising a question or statement couched in deliberately puzzling terms, propounded for solving by the hearer/reader using clues embedded within that wording" [Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore], early 13c., from Old English rædels "riddle; counsel; conjecture; imagination; discussion," common Germanic (cf. Old Frisian riedsal "riddle," Old Saxon radisli, Middle Dutch raetsel, Dutch raadsel, Old High German radisle, German Rätsel "riddle").

The first element is from Proto-Germanic *redaz-, from PIE *re-dh-, from PIE *re(1)- "to reason, count" (cf. Old English rædan "to advise, counsel, read, guess;" see read (v.)). The ending is Old English noun suffix -els, the -s of which later was mistaken for a plural affix and stripped off. Meaning "anything which puzzles or perplexes" is from late 14c.

"coarse sieve," mid-14c., alteration of late Old English hriddel, dissimilated from hridder, from Proto-Germanic *hrida- (cf. German Reiter), from PIE root *krei- "to sieve," and thus related to Latin cribrum "sieve, riddle," Greek krinein "to separate, distinguish, decide" (see crisis).

v.

"perforate with many holes," 1817 (implied in riddled), earlier "sift" (early 13c.), from Middle English ridelle "coarse sieve," from late Old English hriddel "sieve," altered by dissimilation from Old English hridder "sieve" (see riddle (n.2)).

"to pose as a riddle," 1570s, from riddle (n.1). Related: Riddled; riddler; riddling.

riddle in the Bible

(Heb. hodah). The oldest and, strictly speaking, the only example of a riddle was that propounded by Samson (Judg. 14:12-18). The parabolic prophecy in Ezek. 17:2-18 is there called a "riddle." It was rather, however, an allegory. The word "darkly" in 1 Cor. 13:12 is the rendering of the Greek enigma; marg., "in a riddle."