# puzzle
## English
### Etymology

Origin uncertain; originally pusle. Possibly from pose (“to perplex, puzzle, interrogate”) +‎ -le (frequentative suffix). The verb (1590s) “to perplex” seems to predate the noun “state of being perplexed” (circa 1600), “perplexing question” (1650s), “toy” (1814).

### Pronunciation

* enPR: pŭzʹəl, IPA: /ˈpʌzəl/
* Audio (Canada):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌzəl

### Noun

puzzle (plural puzzles)
* Anything that is difficult to understand or make sense of.
    Where he went after he left the house is a puzzle.
* A game for one or more people that is more or less difficult to work out or complete.
* A crossword puzzle.
* A jigsaw puzzle.
* A riddle.
* (archaic) Something made with marvellous skill; something of ingenious construction.
* The state of being puzzled; perplexity.
    to be in a puzzle

#### Synonyms

* (anything difficult to understand or make sense of): anybody's guess, anyone's guess, conundrum, enigma, mystery
* (game for one person): brain-teaser, poser
* (crossword puzzle): crossword, crossword puzzle
* (jigsaw puzzle):: jigsaw, jigsaw puzzle
* (riddle): guessing game, riddle

#### Derived terms

* 15 puzzle
* burr puzzle
* Chinese finger puzzle
* Chinese puzzle
* crossword puzzle
* floor puzzle
* food puzzle
* jigsaw puzzle
* lawyer's puzzle
* monkey puzzle
* Parsons puzzle
* puzzle box
* puzzle canon
* puzzle cube
* puzzled
* puzzle game
* puzzlement
* puzzle-monkey
* puzzle out
* puzzle over
* Puzzle Palace
* puzzle-peg
* puzzler
* puzzle ring
* puzzling
* twisty puzzle
* vanishing puzzle
* xword puzzle
* zigsaw puzzle

#### Descendants

* → Korean: 퍼즐 (peojeul)

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

puzzle (third-person singular simple present puzzles, present participle puzzling, simple past and past participle puzzled)
* (transitive) To perplex, confuse, or mystify; to cause (someone) to be faced with a mystery, without answers or an explanation.
** 1634 September 1 (Gregorian calendar), Robert Sanderson, “[Ad Clerum.] The Fourth Sermon. At a Metropolitical Visitation at Grantham, Lincoln, 22 August 1634.”, in XXXIV Sermons. […], 5th edition, London: […] [A. Clark] for A. Seil, and are to be sold by G. Sawbridge, […], published 1671, →OCLC, paragraph 15, page 65:Mens daily occaſions for themſelves or friends, and the neceſities of common life, require the doing of a thouſand things vvithin the compaſs of a fevv dayes, for vvhich it vvould puzzle the beſt Textman that liveth; readily to bethink himself of a ſentence in the Bible, clear enough to ſatisfie a ſcrupulous conſcience of the lavvfulneſs and expediency of vvhat he is about to do; […]
** 1668, Franciscus Euistor the Palæopolite [pseudonym; Henry More], “(please specify the page)”, in Divine Dialogues, Containing Sundry Disquisitions & Instructions Concerning the Attributes of God and His Providence in the World. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Joseph Downing […], published 1713, →OCLC:A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous in puzzling others, if they be not thoroughpaced speculators in those great theories.
** 1712 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, February 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 291; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his own blunders.The spelling has been modernized.
** 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.
** 2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?‎, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 261:When it comes to God’s existence, I’m not an atheist and I’m not an agnostic. I’m an acrostic. The whole thing puzzles me.
* (intransitive) To think long and carefully in bewilderment.
    We puzzled over the curious-shaped lock, but were unable to discover how the key should be inserted.
* (transitive) To make intricate or difficult to resolve; to entangle.
** 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate, Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors; Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain, Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search; […]
** 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC:They disentangle from the puzzled skein.

#### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:confuse

#### Derived terms

* puzzled
* puzzle out
* puzzle over
* puzzler
* puzzle through
* puzzling (adjective) (noun)

#### Translations
### Related terms

* puzzlement

### References

* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “puzzle”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* puzzel

## Czech
### Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈpazl̩]
* (nonstandard, hyperforeign) IPA: [ˈput͡slɛ]

### Noun

puzzle m inan or n or f
* jigsaw puzzle

#### Usage notes

Also used as an indeclinable noun of various genders, most often neuter.
Although the standard pronunciation of this word, which has been borrowed from English, is /ˈpazl̩/, another common informal pronunciation is /ˈput͡sle/, which is a hyperforeignism, trying to apply either Italian (as in pizza) or more probably German pronunciation rules. However, both Italian and German pronunciation of the word puzzle is different.

#### Declension

when masculine:
Indeclinable when neuter or feminine.

### References

* ↑ Jiří Rejzek (2007) “puzzle”, in Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Leda
* ↑ puzzle in Internetová jazyková příručka, Institute of the Czech Language of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
* ↑ Z dopisů jazykové poradně, Naše řeč, volume 82 (1999), issue 5

## French
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pœ.zœl/, /pœzl/, /pyzl/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)
* jigsaw puzzle

### Further reading

* “puzzle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Hungarian
### Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈpaːzl̩], [ˈpaːzəl] (also with a short [a])
* Hyphenation: puzzle (cannot be hyphenated)
* Rhymes: -əl

### Noun

puzzle (plural puzzle-ök or puzzle-ok or puzzle-k)
* jigsaw puzzle
    Synonyms: (képes) kirakó/kirakójáték, kirakós (játék), képkirakó/képkirakós (játék), (rare) pázli

#### Declension

or
or

#### Derived terms

* puzzle-darab
* puzzle-ozik or puzzle-özik

### See also

* kirak (“to do [a jigsaw puzzle]”)

### References

* 1 2 Miképpen kell kiejteni és toldalékolni a puzzle szót? (“How is the word puzzle to be pronounced and inflected?”) answered by E-nyelv.hu, based on Laczkó, Krisztina with Attila Mártonfi (2006) Helyesírás [Orthography], Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, →ISBN
* 1 2 puzzle toldalékolása (“inflection of puzzle”) answered by E-nyelv.hu

## Italian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpad.d͡zol/
** Rhymes: -addzol
* IPA: (careful style) /ˈpa.zol/, (careful style) /ˈpa.zel/
** Rhymes: (careful style) -azol, (careful style) -azel

### Noun

puzzle m (invariable)
* jigsaw puzzle
* (by extension) a difficult problem

### References

* ↑ puzzle in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle, with a hyperforeign alternative pronunciation.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpu.zlɛ/, (nonstandard) /ˈpu.t͡slɛ/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -uzlɛ, -ut͡slɛ
* Syllabification: puzz‧le

### Noun

puzzle nvir pl
* jigsaw puzzle (type of puzzle in which the aim is to reconstruct a picture that has been cut (originally, with a jigsaw) into many small interlocking pieces)

#### Derived terms

* puzzel

### Noun

puzzle m animal
* nominative/accusative/vocative plural of puzzel

### Further reading

* puzzle in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* puzzle in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* puzzle in PWN's encyclopedia

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈpɐ.zow/ [ˈpɐ.zoʊ̯]

### Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)
* jigsaw puzzle

## Romanian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

### Noun

puzzle n (plural puzzle-uri)
* puzzle

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Alternative forms

* puzle

### Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Spain) /ˈpuθle/ [ˈpuθ.le]
* IPA: (Latin America, Philippines) /ˈpusle/ [ˈpus.le]
* Rhymes: -uθle
* Rhymes: -usle
* Syllabification: puzz‧le

### Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)
* jigsaw puzzle

#### Usage notes

The current RAE recommended spelling is puzle.

## Turkish
### Alternative forms

* pazıl

### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpa.zɯɫ/

### Noun

puzzle (definite accusative puzzle'ı, plural puzzle'lar)
* jigsaw puzzle
    Synonyms: pazıl, yapboz

### Further reading

* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “puzzle”, in Nişanyan Sözlük