enigmatic
en-ig-MAT-ik · adjective
Ancient GreekLatinFrenchEnglish
Origin
Enigmatic comes from Latin aenigmaticus and French énigmatique, which trace back to Ancient Greek αἰνιγματικός (ainigmatikós). It's built from enigma plus the adjective-forming suffix -tic.
Journey
The word has stayed close to its root meaning throughout its path from Greek through Latin and French into English — describing something puzzling or riddle-like.
Related words
It shares its root directly with 'enigma,' the noun for a riddle or mystery that enigmatic simply turns into a description.
More words
From French
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