English
enigma
Enigma comes from Latin aenigma ‘riddle’, and goes back to Ancient Greek αἶνος ‘fable’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἶνος1‘fable’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἴνιγμα2aínigma‘riddle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaenigma3‘riddle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598enigma3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek αἴνιγμα
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin aenigma
- 3 Wiktionary, English enigma
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1598, William Shakespeare: “Some enigma, some riddle: come, thy l'envoy, begin.”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἶνοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek αἴνιγμα‘fable’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἴνιγμαWiktionary, Latin aenigmaaínigma‘riddle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaenigmaWiktionary, English enigma‘riddle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598enigmaWiktionary, English enigma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1598, William Shakespeare: “Some enigma, some riddle: come, thy l'envoy, begin.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- ‘important speech’
early, young, age, era, diet, junior, longevity, juvenile, ere, juvenal, 23 more
Today it means
noun Something or someone puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “enigma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek αἴνιγμα, Latin aenigma. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek αἶνος / enigma