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riddle

 - 7 dictionary results

rid⋅dle

1  [rid-l] noun, verb, -dled, -dling.
Use riddle in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME redel, redels (n.), OE rǣdels(e) counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle (rǣd(an) to counsel, rede + -els(e) deverbal n. suffix) with loss of -s- in ME through confusion with the pl. form of the n. suffix -el -le (cf. burial ); c. G Rätsel, D raadsel

Synonyms:
1. See puzzle.

rid⋅dle

2  [rid-l] verb, -dled, -dling, noun
–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:
bef. 1100; (n.) ME riddil, OE hriddel, var. of hridder, hrīder; c. G Reiter; akin to L crībrum sieve; (v.) ME ridlen to sift, deriv. of the n.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To riddle
rid·dle 1   (rĭd'l)   
tr.v.   rid·dled, rid·dling, rid·dles

  1. To pierce with numerous holes; perforate: riddle a target with bullets.

  2. To spread throughout: "Election campaigns have always been riddled with demagogy and worse" (New Republic).

  3. To put (gravel, for example) through a coarse sieve.

n.  A coarse sieve, as for gravel.

[Middle English ridelen, to sift, from riddil, sieve, from Old English hriddel; see krei- in Indo-European roots.]
rid'dler n.
rid·dle 2   (rĭd'l)   
n.  

  1. A question or statement requiring thought to answer or understand; a conundrum.

  2. One that is perplexing; an enigma.

v.   rid·dled, rid·dling, rid·dles

v.   tr.
To solve or explain.
v.   intr.

  1. To propound or solve riddles.

  2. To speak in riddles.


[Middle English redels, from Old English rǣdels; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]
rid'dler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

riddle  (n.)
"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  (v.)
"perforate with many holes," 1817 (implied in riddled), earlier "sift" (c.1225), 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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Riddle

(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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