Etymograph

English

riddling

Riddling comes from Middle English redel ‘a riddle or enigma’, from Proto-West Germanic *rādislī ‘advice, consultation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁dʰ- ‘to think, arrange’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₁dʰ-1‘to think, arrange’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hréh₁dʰeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rēdaną2‘to decide, advise’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādan3‘to advise’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādislī4‘advice, consultation’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150rǣdels5‘counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redel5‘a riddle or enigma’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1953riddling5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *rēdaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *rādan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *rādislī
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English rædels
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English riddling
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1953, Restoring British Permanent Way to Prewar Standards: “Track work had to be confined largely to the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₁dʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *rēdaną‘to think, arrange’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hréh₁dʰetiWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *rēdanąreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rēdanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *rādan‘to decide, advise’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādanWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *rādislī‘to advise’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādislīWiktionary, Old English rædels‘advice, consultation’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150rǣdelsWiktionary, English riddling‘counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redelWiktionary, English riddling‘a riddle or enigma’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1953riddlingWiktionary, English riddling. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1953, Restoring British Permanent Way to Prewar Standards: “Track work had to be confined largely to the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *rēdaną ‘to decide, advise’

raad, 3 more

through Proto-West Germanic *rādan ‘to advise’

read, reed, rede, 3 more

Another origin of riddling

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₁dʰ-‘to think, arrange’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hréh₁dʰetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rēdaną‘to advise, counsel’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādan‘to advise, counsel, help’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150rǣdan‘to advise, read’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reden‘to read’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redels‘a riddle or enigma’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redelas riddil‘a riddle or enigma’
  9. Englishtodayriddling

Today it means

verb The posing or solving of a riddle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “riddling”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *rēdaną, Proto-West Germanic *rādan, Proto-West Germanic *rādislī, Old English rædels. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁dʰ- / riddling

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