Definitions for Enigma
əˈnɪg mə; -mə təenig·ma

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mystery, enigma, secret, closed booknoun

   something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

   "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets"

2. riddle, conundrum, enigma, brain-teasernoun

   a difficult problem

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. enigmanoun

   Something puzzling, mysterious or inexplicable

2. enigmanoun

   A riddle, or a difficult problem

3. Enigmanoun

   A German device used during World War II to encode strategic messages

4. Etymology: From aenigma, from.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ENIGMAnoun

   A riddle; an obscure question; a position expressed in remote and ambiguous terms.

   Etymology: ænigma, Latin; ἄινιγμα.

   The dark enigma will allow
   A meaning; which, if well I understand,
   From sacrilege will free the god’s command. Dryden.

   A custom was amongst the ancients of proposing an enigma at festivals, and adjudging a reward to him that solved it. Alexander Pope.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ENIGMA

   The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the German military. The Enigma machine was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret messages.The Enigma has an electromechanical rotor mechanism that scrambles the 26 letters of the alphabet. In typical use, one person enters text on the Enigma's keyboard and another person writes down which of the 26 lights above the keyboard illuminated at each key press. If plain text is entered, the illuminated letters are the ciphertext. Entering ciphertext transforms it back into readable plaintext. The rotor mechanism changes the electrical connections between the keys and the lights with each keypress. The security of the system depends on machine settings that were generally changed daily, based on secret key lists distributed in advance, and on other settings that were changed for each message. The receiving station would have to know and use the exact settings employed by the transmitting station to successfully decrypt a message. While Nazi Germany introduced a series of improvements to the Enigma over the years, and these hampered decryption efforts, they did not prevent Poland from cracking the machine as early as December 1932 and reading messages prior to and into the war. Poland's sharing of her achievements enabled the western Allies to exploit Enigma-enciphered messages as a major source of intelligence. Many commentators say the flow of Ultra communications intelligence from the decrypting of Enigma, Lorenz, and other ciphers shortened the war substantially and may even have altered its outcome.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. enigma

   An enigma is something that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand or interpret. It can also refer to a person who is mysterious or hard to understand.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Enigmanoun

   a dark, obscure, or inexplicable saying; a riddle; a statement, the hidden meaning of which is to be discovered or guessed

2. Enigmanoun

   an action, mode of action, or thing, which cannot be satisfactorily explained; a puzzle; as, his conduct is an enigma

3. Etymology: [L. aenigma, Gr. a'i`nigma, fr. a'ini`ssesqai to speak darkly, fr. a'i^nos tale, fable.]

WikidataRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. Enigma

   Enigma is an electronic musical project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, from the early 1990s until May 2009, where he has recorded all of Enigma's studio releases to date. Cretu is both the composer and the producer of the project. His former wife, pop singer Sandra, often provided vocals on Enigma tracks. Jens Gad co-arranged and played guitar on three of the Enigma albums. Peter Cornelius also contributed to Enigma during the 1990s. Seven studio albums have been produced under the name of the project.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Enigma

   en-ig′ma, n. a statement with a hidden meaning to be guessed: anything very obscure: a riddle.—adjs. Enigmat′ic, -al, relating to, containing, or resembling an enigma: obscure: puzzling.—adv. Enigmat′ically.—v.t. Enig′matise, to utter or deal in riddles.—ns. Enig′matist, one who enigmatises; Enigmatog′raphy, science of enigmas and their solution. [L. ænigma—Gr. ainigma—ainissesthai, to speak darkly—ainos, a fable.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. enigma

   Song lyrics by enigma -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by enigma on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Problem

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for Enigma »

1. gamine

2. in-game

How to pronounce Enigma?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Enigma in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Enigma in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Enigma in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of Enigma in a Sentence

1. Jared Leadbetter:

   There is a whole set of environmental engineering literature on drinking-water-distribution systems getting clogged by manganese oxides, but how and for what reason such material is generated there has remained an enigma. Clearly, many scientists have considered that bacteria using manganese for energy might be responsible, but evidence supporting this idea was not available until now.

2. Umberto Eco:

   I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.

3. Winston Churchill:

   I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.

4. Joseph Joubert:

   Without the spiritual world the material world is a disheartening enigma.

5. Sir Winston Churchill, Radio speech, 1939:

   I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Enigma
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Enigma
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Enigma
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Enigma
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Enigma
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Enigma
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Enigma