riddles
Use Riddles in a sentence
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)
5.
to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.
00:10
Riddles
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
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
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
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
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Riddles
Collins
World English Dictionary
riddle1 (ˈrɪdəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 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 |
| —vb | |
| 3. | to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles) |
| 4. | (intr) to speak in riddles |
| [Old English rǣdelle, rǣdelse, from rǣd counsel; related to Old Saxon rādislo, German Rätsel] | |
| 'riddler1 | |
| —n | |
| riddle2 (ˈrɪdəl) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | ( |
| 2. | to damage or impair |
| 3. | to put through a sieve; sift |
| 4. | to fill or pervade: the report was riddled with errors |
| —n | |
| 5. | a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc |
| [Old English hriddel a sieve, variant of hridder; related to Latin crībrum sieve] | |
| 'riddler2 | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
riddle
"A word game ot 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], O.E. rædels "opinion, riddle, counsel, conjecture," from P.Gmc. *rædislijan
(cf. O.S. radisli, M.Du. raetsel, Du. raadsel, O.H.G. radisle, Ger. Rätsel "riddle"). Related to O.E. rædan "to advise, counsel, read, guess" (see read).
riddle
"perforate with many holes," 1817 (implied in riddled), earlier "sift" (early 13c.), from M.E. ridelle "coarse sieve," from late O.E. hriddel "sieve," altered by dissimilation from O.E. hridder "sieve," from P.Gmc. *khridan (cf. Ger. Reiter), from base *khrid- "shake" (cf. O.N. hreinn, O.H.G. hreini,
Goth. hrains "clean, pure"); probably from same PIE base as L. cribrum "sieve, riddle," Gk. krinein "to separate, distinguish, decide" (see crisis).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Riddle definition
(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."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
The whole subject is a network of riddles-a network with solutions glimmering elusively through.
But while it languished, another group of scientists was grappling with some equally puzzling cave riddles.
Sparrow has left riddles for you to solve to find the key.
Wack burned incense in his office and spoke in riddles and parables.
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