conundrum

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• Received-Pronunciation, US: /kəˈnʌn.dɹəm/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N AH1 N D R AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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A word of unknown origin with several variants, gaining popularity for its burlesque imitation of scholastic Latin, as hocus-pocus or panjandrum. If there is more to its origin than a nonce coinage, Anatoly Liberman suggests the best theory is that connecting it with the Conimbricenses, 16th c. scholastic commentaries on Aristotle by the Jesuits of Coimbra which indulge heavily in arguments relying on multiple significations of words.

93 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Armenian: գլուխկոտրուկ (gluxkotruk) — difficult question or riddle
• Armenian: հանելուկ (haneluk) — difficult question or riddle
• Armenian: առեղծված (aṙeġcvac) — difficult question or riddle
• Azerbaijani: başsındıran — difficult question or riddle
• Bashkir: башватҡыс (başvatqıs) — difficult question or riddle
• Bashkir: йомаҡ (yomaq) — difficult question or riddle
• Bulgarian: гатанка (gatanka) — difficult question or riddle
• Bulgarian: загадка (zagadka) — difficult question or riddle
• Catalan: endevinalla — difficult question or riddle
• Catalan: envitricollament — difficult question or riddle
• Chinese Mandarin: 字谜 (zìmí) — difficult question or riddle
• Czech: hádanka — difficult question or riddle
• Czech: rébus — difficult question or riddle
• Czech: hlavolam — difficult question or riddle
• Danish: gåde — difficult question or riddle
• Danish: ordgåde — difficult question or riddle
• Dutch: raadsel — difficult question or riddle
• Dutch: hersenbreker — difficult question or riddle
• Esperanto: enigmo — difficult question or riddle
• Finnish: arvoitus — difficult question or riddle
• Finnish: kompakysymys — difficult question or riddle
• Finnish: kompa — difficult question or riddle
• French: énigme — difficult question or riddle
• French: problème — difficult question or riddle
• French: casse-tête — difficult question or riddle
• Galician: adiviña — difficult question or riddle
• Galician: deviñanza — difficult question or riddle
• German: Rätsel — difficult question or riddle
• German: Scherzfrage — difficult question or riddle
• German: schwierige Frage — difficult question or riddle
• German: Vexierfrage — difficult question or riddle
• German: Rätselfrage — difficult question or riddle
• German: Kopfzerbrecher — difficult question or riddle
• Greek: αίνιγμα (aínigma) — difficult question or riddle
• Greek: γρίφος (grífos) — difficult question or riddle
• Greek: σπαζοκεφαλιά (spazokefaliá) — difficult question or riddle
• Hungarian: találós kérdés — difficult question or riddle
• Hungarian: rejtvény — difficult question or riddle
• Italian: rompicapo — difficult question or riddle
• Italian: enigma — difficult question or riddle
• Italian: indovinello — difficult question or riddle
• Italian: rebus — difficult question or riddle
• Macedonian: га́танка (gátanka) — difficult question or riddle
• Macedonian: за́гатка (zágatka) — difficult question or riddle
• Middle English: probleme — difficult question or riddle
• Norwegian: gåte — difficult question or riddle
• Polish: zagadka — difficult question or riddle
• Portuguese: adivinha — difficult question or riddle
• Russian: зага́дка (zagádka) — difficult question or riddle
• Russian: головоло́мка (golovolómka) — difficult question or riddle
• Serbo-Croatian: zavrzlama — difficult question or riddle
• Sicilian: nimma — difficult question or riddle
• Sicilian: nnivinagghia — difficult question or riddle
• Slovak: hlavolam — difficult question or riddle
• Slovak: hádanka — difficult question or riddle
• Slovak: problém — difficult question or riddle
• Spanish: adivinanza — difficult question or riddle
• Spanish: acertijo — difficult question or riddle
• Tagalog: paisip — difficult question or riddle
• Turkish: bilmece — difficult question or riddle
• Turkish: muamma — difficult question or riddle
• Vietnamese: nan đề — difficult question or riddle
• Azerbaijani: dilemma — difficult choice or decision
• Bulgarian: дилема (dilema) — difficult choice or decision
• Catalan: dilema — difficult choice or decision
• Czech: dilema — difficult choice or decision
• Danish: hovedbrud — difficult choice or decision
• Dutch: dilemma — difficult choice or decision
• Finnish: pulma — difficult choice or decision
• French: dilemme — difficult choice or decision
• Galician: dilema — difficult choice or decision
• Georgian: თავსატეხი (tavsaṭexi) — difficult choice or decision
• German: Dilemma — difficult choice or decision
• German: Qual der Wahl — difficult choice or decision
• German: Entscheidungsfrage — difficult choice or decision
• German: Zwickmühle — difficult choice or decision
• Greek: δίλημμα (dílimma) — difficult choice or decision
• Hungarian: dilemma — difficult choice or decision
• Italian: dilemma — difficult choice or decision
• Italian: enigma — difficult choice or decision
• Macedonian: недоу́мица (nedoúmica) — difficult choice or decision
• Macedonian: диле́ма (diléma) — difficult choice or decision
• Polish: dylemat — difficult choice or decision
• Portuguese: dilema — difficult choice or decision
• Romanian: dilemă — difficult choice or decision
• Russian: диле́мма (dilémma) — difficult choice or decision
• Sicilian: dilimma — difficult choice or decision
• Sicilian: nimma — difficult choice or decision
• Sicilian: dubbiu — difficult choice or decision
• Spanish: interrogante — difficult choice or decision
• Spanish: dilema — difficult choice or decision
• Spanish: enigma — difficult choice or decision
• Swedish: dilemma — difficult choice or decision