problem

See also: Problem and problém

English

Alternative forms

• probleme (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English probleme, from Middle French probleme, from Latin problema, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle, anything projecting, a headland, promontory”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw or lay something in front of someone, to put forward”), from προ- (pro-, “in front of”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, to cast, to hurl”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɒbləm/
• (dated, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɒblɪm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɑbləm/
• Hyphenation: prob‧lem

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

problem (plural problems)

2. A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.

   She's leaving because she faced numerous problems to do with racism.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314:

     “ […] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

   • 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:

     The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.

4. A question to be answered, schoolwork exercise.

   Study hard, but don't overdo it. The problems in the exam won't be difficult to solve.

6. A puzzling circumstance.
7. Objection.

   You got a problem with that?

8. Difficulty in accepting or understanding or refusal to accept or understand.

   You made your best honest effort; if they judge you harshly, that’s their problem, not yours.

9. (climbing) A set of moves required to complete a climb.

Antonyms

• solution

Hyponyms

• Entscheidungsproblem

Derived terms

• alcohol problem
• algorithmic problem
• Apollonian problem
• Archimedes' problem
• behavior problem
• core problem
• decision problem
• drug problem
• fencepost problem
• fiscal problem
• halting problem
• Houston, we have a problem
• logic problem
• mathematical problem
• no problem
• problematic
• problematical
• problematize
• wicked problem

 

Descendants

• → Welsh: problem

Translations

difficulty

• Albanian: çështje (sq) f, zavall (sq) m, problem (sq) m
• Amharic: ችግር (čəggər)
• Arabic: مُشْكِلَة‎ f (muškila)

  Moroccan Arabic: مشكلة‎ (muškila), مصيبة‎ (muṣība), مشكل‎ (muškil, muškul)

  Tunisian Arabic: مشكل‎ (muškul)

• Aragonese: problema m
• Armenian: խնդիր (hy) (xndir)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܘܼܫܟܸܠܵܐ‎ (muškila)
• Asturian: problema m
• Azerbaijani: problem (az), məsələ (az)
• Bashkir: проблема (problema), мәсьәлә (mäs’älä)
• Basque: arazo
• Belarusian: прабле́ма (be) f (prabljéma)
• Bengali: প্রব্লেম (prôblem), সমস্যা (śômôśja), ঝামেলা (bn) (jhamela), অসুবিধা (ôśubidha)
• Breton: kudenn (br) f
• Bulgarian: пробле́м (bg) m (problém)
• Burmese: ပြဿနာ (my) (pra.ssa.na)
• Catalan: problema (ca) m
• Cebuano: kalisud
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 問題 (zh), 问题 (zh) (wèntí), 困難 (zh), 困难 (zh) (kùnnán), 難題 (zh), 难题 (zh) (nántí), 麻煩 (zh), 麻烦 (zh) (máfán)

• Czech: problém (cs) m
• Danish: problem (da) n
• Dutch: probleem (nl) n
• Esperanto: problemo
• Estonian: küsimus (et), takistus (et), kitsikus, mure, probleem
• Finnish: ongelma (fi), (old slang) probleemi (fi), vaikeus (fi)
• French: problème (fr) m
• Galician: problema (gl) m
• Georgian: პრობლემა (ṗroblema), სირთულე (sirtule)
• German: Problem (de) n
• Greek: πρόβλημα (el) n (próvlima)

  Ancient: ἀπορία f (aporía)

• Hebrew: בְּעָיָה‎ (he) f (be'aya)
• Hiligaynon: palaligban, problema
• Hindi: समस्या (hi) f (samasyā), मसला (hi) m (maslā), प्रश्न (hi) m (praśna), दिक़्क़त f (diqqat), दिक्कत (hi) f (dikkat), मुश्किल (hi) f (muśkil)
• Hungarian: probléma (hu), baj (hu), gond (hu), nehézség (hu)
• Icelandic: vandamál (is) n
• Indonesian: masalah (id)
• Irish: fadhb (ga) f, deacracht f
• Italian: problema (it) m
• Japanese: 問題 (ja) (もんだい, mondai)
• Kazakh: мәселе (mäsele), проблема (kk) (problema)
• Khmer: ចំណោទ (km) (cɑmnaot)
• Korean: 문제(問題) (ko) (munje)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: problem (ku), mesele (ku)

• Kyrgyz: проблема (ky) (problema), көйгөй (ky) (qöyğöy), маселе (ky) (masele)
• Lao: ບັນຫາ (ban hā)

• Latvian: problēma (lv) f
• Lithuanian: problema f
• Macedonian: проблем m (problem)
• Malay: masalah (ms), kesulitan (ms), kemusykilan
• Malayalam: പ്രശ്നം (ml) (praśnaṃ)
• Maltese: problema f
• Maore Comorian: taãɓu 9 or 10
• Maori: rarunga
• Mirandese: porblema m
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хүндрэл (mn) (hündrel)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠦᠨᠳᠦᠷᠡᠯ (kündürel)

• Neapolitan: prubblema
• Ngazidja Comorian: shaka 5 or 6
• Norman: problième m (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: problem (no) n, aber (no) n

  Nynorsk: problem n

• Occitan: problèma (oc) m
• Old English: wiern f, hremming f
• Oromo: rakkina
• Pashto: مسئله‎ f (mas'ala), کشاله‎ f (kašāla)
• Persian: مشکل‎ (fa) (moškel), مسئله‎ (fa) (mas'ale)
• Polish: problem (pl) m, kłopot (pl) m
• Portuguese: problema (pt) m
• Romanian: problemă (ro) f
• Russian: пробле́ма (ru) f (probléma)
• Sanskrit: समस्या (sa) f (samasyā)
• Scottish Gaelic: duilgheadas m, staing f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: про̀бле̄м m

  Roman: pròblēm (sh) m

• Slovak: problém (sk) m
• Slovene: problem m
• Spanish: problema (es) m, dificultad (es) f, lío (es) m
• Swahili: tatizo (sw) 5 or 6, masaibu (sw)
• Swedish: problem (sv) n
• Tagalog: problema (tl)
• Tajik: мушкил (tg) (muškil), масъала (masʾala), проблема (problema)
• Tatar: мәсьәлә (mäs’älä)
• Thai: ปัญหา (th) (bpan-hǎa)
• Tibetan: རྙོག་དྲ (rnyog dra)
• Turkish: sorun (tr), problem (tr)
• Turkmen: problem, problema, mesele
• Tuvaluan: fakalavelave
• Ukrainian: пробле́ма f (probléma)
• Urdu: مَسْلَہ‎ m (maslā), مُصِیبَت‎ (ur) f (muṣībat), دِقَّت‎ f (diqqat), مُشْکِل‎ f (muśkil)
• Uyghur: مەسىلە‎ (mesile)
• Uzbek: masala (uz), muammo (uz), problema (uz)
• Vietnamese: vấn đề (vi) (問題)
• Walloon: rujhe (wa) f, aroke (wa) f, arnåjhe (wa) f, rascråwe (wa) f, asticote (wa) f
• Welsh: problem (cy) f
• Yiddish: פּראָבלעם‎ m (problem)
• Yucatec Maya: toop

schoolwork exercise

• Arabic: تَمْرِين‎ m (tamrīn)
• Armenian: խնդիր (hy) (xndir), հարց (hy) (harcʿ)
• Asturian: problema m
• Bashkir: мәсьәлә (mäs’älä)
• Basque: buruketa (eu)
• Belarusian: зада́ча (be) f (zadáča), зада́нне n (zadánnje)
• Bengali: প্রশ্ন (prôśnô)
• Breton: poelladenn f
• Bulgarian: зада́ча (bg) f (zadáča)
• Catalan: problema (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 題目 (zh), 题目 (zh) (tímù), 習題 (zh), 习题 (zh) (xítí), 課題 (zh), 课题 (zh) (kètí)

• Dutch: oefening (nl) f, probleem (nl) n
• Estonian: harjutus
• Finnish: harjoitus (fi), harjoitustehtävä (fi)
• French: problème (fr) m
• Galician: problema (gl) m
• Georgian: ამოცანა (amocana)
• German: Übung (de) f
• Greek: πρόβλημα (el) n (próvlima)

  Ancient: πρόβλημα n (próblēma)

• Hungarian: feladat (hu), példa (hu)
• Interlingua: problema
• Irish: fadhb (ga) f
• Japanese: 問題 (ja) (もんだい, mondai), 課題 (ja) (かだい, kadai)

• Korean: 문제(問題) (ko) (munje), 과제(課題) (ko) (gwaje)
• Latvian: uzdevums m
• Macedonian: задача f (zadača), проблем m (problem)
• Maori: rapanga
• Middle English: probleme
• Norman: problième m (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: oppgave (no) m or f

• Occitan: problèma (oc) m
• Persian: مسئله‎ (fa) (mas'ale)
• Polish: zadanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: problema (pt) m, exercício (pt) m
• Romanian: problemă (ro) f, exercițiu (ro) n
• Russian: зада́ча (ru) f (zadáča), зада́ние (ru) n (zadánije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: про̀бле̄м m, зада́так m, једна̀џба f

  Roman: pròblēm (sh) m, zadátak (sh) m, jednàdžba (sh) f

• Spanish: problema (es) m, ejercicio (es) m
• Swahili: masaibu (sw)
• Swedish: uppgift (sv) c, övning (sv) c, problem (sv) n
• Thai: โจทย์ (th) (jòot)
• Turkish: soru (tr)
• Ukrainian: зада́ча f (zadáča), завда́ння (uk) n (zavdánnja)
• Walloon: problinme (wa) m

puzzling circumstance

• Arabic: مَسْأَلَة‎ f (masʾala)
• Bashkir: мәсьәлә (mäs’älä)
• Basque: arazo, buruhauste
• Bengali: প্রব্লেম (prôblem), সমস্যা (śômôśja), ঝামেলা (bn) (jhamela)
• Catalan: problema (ca) m
• Cebuano: problema
• Dutch: probleem (nl) n
• Estonian: mõistatus
• Farefare: yelle
• Greek: πρόβλημα (el) n (próvlima)
• Irish: fadhb (ga) f
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: problēma
• Middle English: probleme

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utfordring (no) m or f

• Portuguese: problema (pt) m
• Romanian: problemă (ro) f
• Russian: пробле́ма (ru) f (probléma), зада́ча (ru) f (zadáča)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: про̀бле̄м m

  Roman: pròblēm (sh) m

• Spanish: problema (es) m, embrollo (es) m, lío (es) m, bronca (es) f (Mexico)
• Swahili: tatizo (sw), masaibu (sw)
• Tagalog: problema (tl)
• Thai: เรื่อง (th) (rʉ̂ʉang)

Adjective

problem (comparative more problem, superlative most problem)

1. (of a person or an animal) Difficult to train or guide; unruly.
2. Causing a problem; problematic; troublesome.
   • 2010, A. M. Aleksander, The Pride of the King‎^[1]:

     It is more problem to my family than to me.

See also

• trouble

Further reading

• problem in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• problem in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• problem at OneLook Dictionary Search.

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Azerbaijani

Etymology

Internationalism; ultimately from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

problem (definite accusative problemi, plural problemlər)

1. problem

Declension

Declension of problem
	singular	plural
nominative	problem	problemlər
definite accusative	problemi	problemləri
dative	problemə	problemlərə
locative	problemdə	problemlərdə
ablative	problemdən	problemlərdən
definite genitive	problemin	problemlərin

Possessive forms of problem
	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemim	problemlərim
sənin (“your”)	problemin	problemlərin
onun (“his/her/its”)	problemi	problemləri
bizim (“our”)	problemimiz	problemlərimiz
sizin (“your”)	probleminiz	problemləriniz
onların (“their”)	problemi or problemləri	problemləri
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemimi	problemlərimi
sənin (“your”)	problemini	problemlərini
onun (“his/her/its”)	problemini	problemlərini
bizim (“our”)	problemimizi	problemlərimizi
sizin (“your”)	probleminizi	problemlərinizi
onların (“their”)	problemini or problemlərini	problemlərini
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemimə	problemlərimə
sənin (“your”)	probleminə	problemlərinə
onun (“his/her/its”)	probleminə	problemlərinə
bizim (“our”)	problemimizə	problemlərimizə
sizin (“your”)	probleminizə	problemlərinizə
onların (“their”)	probleminə or problemlərinə	problemlərinə
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemimdə	problemlərimdə
sənin (“your”)	problemində	problemlərində
onun (“his/her/its”)	problemində	problemlərində
bizim (“our”)	problemimizdə	problemlərimizdə
sizin (“your”)	probleminizdə	problemlərinizdə
onların (“their”)	problemində or problemlərində	problemlərində
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemimdən	problemlərimdən
sənin (“your”)	problemindən	problemlərindən
onun (“his/her/its”)	problemindən	problemlərindən
bizim (“our”)	problemimizdən	problemlərimizdən
sizin (“your”)	probleminizdən	problemlərinizdən
onların (“their”)	problemindən or problemlərindən	problemlərindən
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	problemimin	problemlərimin
sənin (“your”)	probleminin	problemlərinin
onun (“his/her/its”)	probleminin	problemlərinin
bizim (“our”)	problemimizin	problemlərimizin
sizin (“your”)	probleminizin	problemlərinizin
onların (“their”)	probleminin or problemlərinin	problemlərinin

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Danish

Noun

problem n (singular definite problemet, plural indefinite problemer)

1. problem

Declension

Declension of problem

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	problem	problemet	problemer	problemerne
genitive	problems	problemets	problemers	problemernes

Derived terms

• helseproblem
• hovedproblem
• problembarn
• rygproblem
• søvnproblem
• vægtproblem

 

References

• “problem” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “problem” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

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Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch probleem, from Latin problēma, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈproblem]
• Hyphenation: pro‧blém

Noun

problem (first-person possessive problemku, second-person possessive problemmu, third-person possessive problemnya)

1. problem.

   Synonyms: masalah, perkara, persoalan

Related terms

• problematik
• problematis

 

Further reading

• “problem” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

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Middle English

Noun

problem

1. Alternative form of probleme

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

problem n (definite singular problemet, indefinite plural problem or problemer, definite plural problema or problemene)

1. problem

Derived terms

Terms derived from problem

• helseproblem
• hovedproblem

• problembarn
• ryggproblem

• søvnproblem
• vektproblem

References

• “problem” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prʊˈbleːm/

Noun

problem n (definite singular problemet, indefinite plural problem, definite plural problema)

1. problem

Derived terms

Terms derived from problem

• helseproblem
• problembarn

• ryggproblem
• søvnproblem

• vektproblem

References

• “problem” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French problème, from Middle French probleme, from Latin problēma, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “obstacle”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw or lay something in front of someone, to put forward”), from προ- (pro-, “in front of”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, to cast, to hurl”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈprɔb.lɛm/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔblɛm
• Syllabification: prob‧lem

Noun

problem m inan (diminutive problemik)

1. problem

   Synonyms: bajer, zagwozdka

Declension

Declension of problem

	singular	plural
nominative	problem	problemy
genitive	problemu	problemów
dative	problemowi	problemom
accusative	problem	problemy
instrumental	problemem	problemami
locative	problemie	problemach
vocative	problemie	problemy

Derived terms

adjectives

• bezproblemowy
• problemowy

 

adverbs

• bezproblemowo
• problemowo

 

nouns

• bezproblemowość
• problemowość

 

Further reading

• problem in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• problem in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romanian

Noun

problem n (plural probleme)

1. Alternative form of problemă

Declension

Declension of problem

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) problem	problemul	(niște) probleme	problemele
genitive/dative	(unui) problem	problemului	(unor) probleme	problemelor
vocative	problemule		problemelor

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Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prǒbleːm/

Noun

pròblēm m (Cyrillic spelling про̀бле̄м)

1. problem

Declension

Declension of problem

	singular	plural
nominative	problem	problemi
genitive	problema	problema
dative	problemu	problemima
accusative	problem	probleme
vocative	probleme	problemi
locative	problemu	problemima
instrumental	problemom	problemima

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prʊˈbleːm/, /prɔ-/, /-ˈblɛːm/
• Hyphenation: pro‧blem

• Audio (of "ett problem," meaning "a problem")

  (file)

Noun

problem n

1. problem; difficulty
2. problem; schoolwork exercise

Declension

Declension of problem
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	problem	problemet	problem	problemen
Genitive	problems	problemets	problems	problemens

Synonyms

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• fråga
• komplikation
• kris
• spörsmål
• tal
• uppgift

Related terms

• problematik
• problematisera
• problematisering
• problematisk
• problemavfall
• problembarn
• problembaserad
• problemdiktning
• problemdrama
• problemformulering
• problemfri
• problemfylld
• problemhärva
• probleminventering
• problemkomplex
• problemkredit
• problemlös
• problemlösare
• problemlösning
• problemområde
• problemorienterad
• problemsituation
• problemställning
• problemtyngd

 

References

• problem in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• plomber

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Turkish

Etymology

From French problème.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾɔb.lɛm/

Noun

problem (definite accusative problemi, plural problemler)

1. problem

   Synonym: sorun

Derived terms

• problem olmak
• problemli
• problemlilik
• problemsiz
• problemsizlik

Related terms

• problematik

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	problem
Definite accusative	problemi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	problem	problemler
Definite accusative	problemi	problemleri
Dative	probleme	problemlere
Locative	problemde	problemlerde
Ablative	problemden	problemlerden
Genitive	problemin	problemlerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular problemim problemlerim 2nd singular problemin problemlerin 3rd singular problemi problemleri 1st plural problemimiz problemlerimiz 2nd plural probleminiz problemleriniz 3rd plural problemleri problemleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular problemimi problemlerimi 2nd singular problemini problemlerini 3rd singular problemini problemlerini 1st plural problemimizi problemlerimizi 2nd plural probleminizi problemlerinizi 3rd plural problemlerini problemlerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular problemime problemlerime 2nd singular problemine problemlerine 3rd singular problemine problemlerine 1st plural problemimize problemlerimize 2nd plural probleminize problemlerinize 3rd plural problemlerine problemlerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular problemimde problemlerimde 2nd singular probleminde problemlerinde 3rd singular probleminde problemlerinde 1st plural problemimizde problemlerimizde 2nd plural probleminizde problemlerinizde 3rd plural problemlerinde problemlerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular problemimden problemlerimden 2nd singular probleminden problemlerinden 3rd singular probleminden problemlerinden 1st plural problemimizden problemlerimizden 2nd plural probleminizden problemlerinizden 3rd plural problemlerinden problemlerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular problemimin problemlerimin 2nd singular probleminin problemlerinin 3rd singular probleminin problemlerinin 1st plural problemimizin problemlerimizin 2nd plural probleminizin problemlerinizin 3rd plural problemlerinin problemlerinin
Predicative forms Singular Plural 1st singular problemim problemlerim 2nd singular problemsin problemlersin 3rd singular problem problemdir problemler problemlerdir 1st plural problemiz problemleriz 2nd plural problemsiniz problemlersiniz 3rd plural problemler problemlerdir

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Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

problem n

1. problem

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Welsh

Etymology

English problem, ultimately from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈprɔblɛm/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈprɔblam/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈprɔblɛm/

Noun

problem f (plural problemau)

1. problem

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
problem	broblem	mhroblem	phroblem
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “problem”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies