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Line drawing of enigmo
Coloured illustration of enigmo
#1652 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

riddle, puzzle; enigma, mystery

Word origin

From Greek ainigma, a dark saying, from ainissesthai ('to speak in riddles'). It reached Esperanto through the shared European form, Latin aenigma and French enigme.

Origin
Greek
Root
ainigma
English cognates
enigma, enigmatic

Examples

.

Nobody could solve the riddle.

.

Her silence is a mystery to me.

.

The teacher gave us a difficult riddle.

Two jobs in one word. An is a riddle somebody sets you and expects you to answer, and it is also the thing nobody can explain, closer to . The shape invites a false reading: this is not the prefix - with anything after it, but a single unanalysable root borrowed whole, so cannot be taken apart the way can.

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Esperanto · Free printables

enigmo: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "enigmo" (riddle, puzzle; enigma, mystery): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 34.