Added 28 September 2026
conundrum
/kəˈnʌn.drəm/ noun
noun Definition written for WordofTheDay.US. More about conundrum at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)