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Rätsel. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Rätsel, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Rätsel in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Rätsel you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From northern Middle High German rētsel, rātsel, from Old High German rādisli (10th c., hapax: ze radislen, Ripuarian), from Proto-West Germanic *rādislī. Equivalent to raten + -sel. The formation was restricted to parts of Central German and was later reinforced by Middle Low German rēdesal, rēdelse. It established itself in the standard language after Luther’s usage. Upper German synonyms were Old High German rātisca, rātissa, rātunga.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʁɛːtsəl/, ,
- Hyphenation: Rät‧sel
Noun
Rätsel n (strong, genitive Rätsels, plural Rätsel)
- riddle, puzzle, mystery, enigma
Declension
Hyponyms
Derived terms
References
- ^ Rätsel (1886), in Deutsches Wörterbuch: “nur einmal bezeugt und mitteldeutschen gepräges, das neutr. râtisli: ze râdislen”. — Note that the Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch casts doubt even on this one attestation and puts the whole entry in brackets (as Old Saxon).
- ^ Rätsel, in Pfeifer: Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen: “das aus dem Nd. aufgenommene Wort”.
Further reading
Luxembourgish
Noun
Rätsel n (plural Rätselen)
- puzzle
- riddle