Rätsel

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See also: rätsel

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.[1] Equivalent to raten +‎ -sel. The formation was restricted to parts of Central German and was later reinforced by Middle Low German rēdesal, rēdelse.[2] 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/, ,
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Rät‧sel

Noun

Rätsel n (strong, genitive Rätsels, plural Rätsel)

  1. riddle, puzzle, mystery, enigma

Declension

Hyponyms

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ 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).
  2. ^ Rätsel, in Pfeifer: Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen: “das aus dem Nd. aufgenommene Wort”.

Further reading

Luxembourgish

Noun

Rätsel n (plural Rätselen)

  1. puzzle
  2. riddle