Link Centre Dictionary

riddle

UK/ˈɹɪdəl/ US/ˈɹʷɪdəl] ~ [ˈɹʷɪdl̩/ fairly common
verb (5) noun (2)

verb

1.

pierce many times

  • “The bullets riddled his body”
2.

set a difficult problem or riddle

  • “riddle me a riddle”
3.

separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff

Synonyms
4.

speak in riddles

5.

noun

1.
2.

a coarse sieve (as for gravel)

Origin

From Middle English riddil, ridelle (“sieve”), from Old English hriddel (“sieve”), alteration of earlier hridder, hrīder, from Proto-West Germanic *hrīdrā, from Proto-Germanic *hrīdrą, *hrīdrǭ (“sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *hrid- (“to shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *krey-. Akin to German Reiter (“sieve”), Old Norse hreinn (“pure, clean”), Old High German hreini (“pure, clean”), Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (hrains, “clean, pure”). More at rinse.

Phrases

  • riddle canon
  • riddle me ree
  • riddle me this
  • riddle stick
  • riddle wrapped in an enigma
  • world riddle

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.