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Jun 7, 2017 · The latter was a friend of Ben Jonson’s, who studied at Westminster School. It is therefore possible that conundrum originated in some university or school joke or as a parody of some Latin scholastic phrase. This would account for forms of the word such as quonundrum and quadundrum used in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Mar 19, 2018 · conundrum (n.) conundrum. (n.) 1590s, an abusive term for a person, perhaps meaning "a pedant;" c. 1600, "a whim;" 1640s, "pun or word-play," a word of unknown origin, said in 17c. to be Oxford University slang. Perhaps the sort of ponderous mock-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles; Skeat suggests Latin conandrum "a ...
- Meaning of Conundrum
- Examples of Conundrum in Literature
- Functions of Conundrum
The term, conundrum, seems to have originated back in 1590. It was used for a person in the meanings of a pedant with further evolution in meanings the 16th century and later. Its Latin equivalent conandrum means to attempt something that was used in the meanings of a riddle during the 18thcentury and later evolved into this meaning. In literature,...
Example # 1
Hamlet by William Shakespeare This soliloquy occurs in Hamlet. Hamlet speaks these words when he finds himself in a dilemma; the dilemma is that he is to kill his uncle, king Claudius, as per the words that he has given to the Ghost of his father. On the other hand, he doubts the morality of his action in which murder is a heinous crime. Therefore, he faces this conundrum in which he thinks that he is options but not sure which one is righteous.
Example # 2
A Raisin in The Sunby Hansberry Lorraine Mama speaks these words in the play of Hansberry Lorraine. On the one hand, she sees the plant not getting more sun, and on the other hand, she sees Ruth not doing enough. She faces this conundrum about what to do as she has options after having money in her hands. This dilemma is purely moral as well as social, for if she invests money in the education of her daughter, it would be able to uplift them as well as ruin them. The fate of the entire family...
Example # 3
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy Elfride is speaking to Stephen after having not resolved the conundrum of her love. She is in a real conundrum as she explains that though they are in love and that they are together yet she states, “I see the difference between you and me” that exists between a man and a woman. In fact, she finds herself in a conundrum that seems unresolvable to both of them.
The use of a conundrum depends on the writer whether he uses it as a mild dilemma or a riddle or a simple unresolvable option. In many cases, the writers put a serious issue amid various options. In such a case, it heightens the suspense of suspense and makes readers feel the same agony as the charactersfeel. However, in the case of a simple dilemm...
How to Pronounce Conundrum. Now that you’ve nailed the spelling, how about the pronunciation? Say it with me: kuh-none-drum, with the stress on the second syllable. Conundrum Etymology and Origin Conundrum usage trend. Here’s a real conundrum: the word’s exact origin is a mystery in itself.
- Author
Did You Know? We can only conjecture the exact origin of conundrum . What is known is that the word has been in use since the 1600s, and that it had various spellings, such as conimbrum , quonundrum , conuncrum , and quadundrum , before the current spelling was finally established in the following century.
The meaning of CONUNDRUM is an intricate and difficult problem. How to use conundrum in a sentence. Did you know?
The earliest known use of the noun conundrum is in the late 1500s. OED's earliest evidence for conundrum is from 1596, in the writing of Thomas Nashe, writer. conundrum is of unknown origin. See etymology.
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