- a perplexing, usually ambiguous, statement; riddle
- a perplexing, baffling, or seemingly inexplicable matter, person, etc.
Origin of enigma
Classical Latin aenigma from Classical Greek ainigma from ainissesthai, to speak in riddles from ainos, tale, story from uncertain or unknown; perhaps Indo-European base an unverified form ai-, an unverified form oi-, meaningful speech from source uncertain or unknown; perhaps Middle Irish ?eth, oath
