English → Latin
“puzzle” in Latin
impediōto hinder, impede, prevent, obstruct, hamper, thwart; to embarrassturbōto disturb, unsettle, agitate, perturb; to upsetconturbōto confuse, confound; to throw into confusion; to disturb, disquiet; to become bankrupt; to throw accounts into disarrayobturbōto stir up, disturb, make turbid; to confuse, throw into disorderCaeliusLucius Coelius Antipater, a Roman jurist and historian; Marcus Caelius Rufus, a Roman politician and oratordubitātiōdoubt, uncertainty; wavering, hesitation; questioningangustĭaesingdifficultāsdifficulty, distress, trouble, hardshipofferōto bring before or bring to, present, offer, bestow, show, place before, exhibit, expose; to cause, occasion, inflict; tincertusuncertain, doubtful, not sure, unsure; not knowing, doubting (said of persons); not known, obscure (said of things)
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
puzzle v.
impedire: turbare: conturbare: obturbare: anything puzzles us sadly, aliquid nos acriter torquet (caelius, ap. Cic.): to be puzzled with anything, impediri, implicari aliqua re: to be puzzled to know what to do, incertum esse, quid faciam: to be puzzled how to do anything, aliquis magna difficultate afficitur, qua ratione aliquid faciat.
puzzle s.
State of confusion, dubitatio (doubt): angustiae: difficultas. To be in a puzzle, incertus or dubius sum, quid faciam, etc.; in angustiis esse: we have got into a sad puzzle, incidimus in difficilem nodum (caelius, ap. Cic., Fam., 8, 11).
Something proposed to try ingenuity, lusoria quaestio (Plin., as problem proposed): *lusus ad acuenda puerorum ingenia accommodatus (as general term); or *nodus quidam in lusum oblatus or offerendus (aliquid in lusum offerre, Quint.). Dissecting puzzles, perhaps *figurae sectiles pueris in lusum offerendae.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for puzzle?
- The usual Latin words for “puzzle” are impediō, turbō, conturbō; also obturbō, Caelius, dubitātiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.