riddle

• vt. 解谜；给...出谜；充满于
• n. 谜语；粗筛；谜一般的人、东西、事情等
• vi. 出谜
• n. (Riddle)人名；(英)里德尔

词源同 read,读，理解，猜测，-le,小词后缀。引申词义谜，谜语。

riddle

riddle: [OE] English has two separate words riddle. The ‘puzzling’ sort of riddle is etymologically something you ‘read’. For it originated as a derivative of Old English rǣdan, the ancestor of modern English read. One of its earlier meanings was ‘interpret’ – hence riddle. Riddle ‘sieve’ goes back to a prehistoric German khrid- ‘shake’, which also produced German dialect reiter ‘sieve’. It is also related to Latin crībrum ‘sieve’ and cernere ‘separate’ (source of English decree, discern, secret, etc).
=> read; certain, decree, discern, secret

riddle (n.1)

"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 (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" (cognates: 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.

riddle (v.1)

"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)).

riddle (n.2)

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

riddle (v.2)

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

来自柯林斯例句

2. Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

俄罗斯是被包藏在一个闷葫芦里面的神秘物体之中的谜.

来自《简明英汉词典》

3. The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.

这个谜语孩子猜不出来.

来自《简明英汉词典》

4. He found out the riddle at last.

他终于猜出了这个谜语.

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. Her disappearance is a complete riddle.

她的失踪完全是一个谜.

来自《简明英汉词典》