Riddles_Stories

Riddles – a small word that encompasses many different kinds of puzzles nowadays. But where does it come from? And for how long has mankind had it? We will look behind the history and development of the riddle from its early beginnings up to the present day. Origin and Meaning of the Riddle The word ‘riddle’ describes a statement or question, which directly requires a concrete answer or presents a puzzle whose hidden meaning has to be deciphered. There are two kinds of riddles. First there is the enigma – a metaphorically expressed riddle – and second there is a conundrum – a very tricky problem usually including a pun in its question or answer. An example for a conundrum would be: “What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?” – “One sells watches and the other watches cells.” The word ‘riddle’ has the same origin as the word ‘read’. It is the Old English word ræ̅dan, which meant interpret or guess. Ræ̅dan also had counterparts in other Indo-European languages like German (Old Frisian riedsal, Old Saxon radisli, German Rätsel) and Dutch (Middle Dutch raetsel, Dutch raadsel). It always revolves around the same meaning of ‘to understand/ interpret the symbols’, like the old Germanic runes. From runes to modern English, the semantic field of ‘riddle’ hasn’t changed that much.