Wiktionary

Rätsel

See also: rätsel

German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʁɛːtsəl/, [ˈʁɛː.t͡sl̩], [ˈʁeː.t͡sl̩]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Rät‧sel

Noun

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Rätsel n (strong, genitive Rätsels, plural Rätsel)

  1. riddle, puzzle, mystery, enigma

Declension

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Declension of Rätsel [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Rätsel die Rätsel
genitive eines des Rätsels der Rätsel
dative einem dem Rätsel den Rätseln
accusative ein das Rätsel die Rätsel

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  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

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Luxembourgish

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Noun

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Rätsel n (plural Rätselen)

  1. puzzle
  2. riddle
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