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riddle (n.1)[riddle 词源字典]: "A word game or joke, comprising a question or statement couched in deliberately puzzling terms, propounded for solving by the hearer/reader using clues embedded within that wording" [Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore], early 13c., from Old English rædels "riddle; counsel; conjecture; imagination; discussion," common Germanic (Old Frisian riedsal "riddle," Old Saxon radisli, Middle Dutch raetsel, Dutch raadsel, Old High German radisle, German Rätsel "riddle").

The first element is from Proto-Germanic *redaz-, from PIE *re-dh-, from PIE *re(1)- "to reason, count" (cognates: Old English rædan "to advise, counsel, read, guess;" see read (v.)). The ending is Old English noun suffix -els, the -s of which later was mistaken for a plural affix and stripped off. Meaning "anything which puzzles or perplexes" is from late 14c.[riddle etymology, riddle origin, 英语词源]
riddle (v.1): "perforate with many holes," 1817 (implied in riddled), earlier "sift" (early 13c.), from Middle English ridelle "coarse sieve," from late Old English hriddel "sieve," altered by dissimilation from Old English hridder "sieve" (see riddle (n.2)).
riddle (n.2): "coarse sieve," mid-14c., alteration of late Old English hriddel, dissimilated from hridder, from Proto-Germanic *hrida- (cognates: German Reiter), from PIE root *krei- "to sieve," and thus related to Latin cribrum "sieve, riddle," Greek krinein "to separate, distinguish, decide" (see crisis).
riddle (v.2): "to pose as a riddle," 1570s, from riddle (n.1). Related: Riddled; riddler; riddling.
ride (v.): Old English ridan "sit or be carried on" (as on horseback), "move forward; rock; float, sail" (class I strong verb; past tense rad, past participle riden), from Proto-Germanic *ridan (cognates: Old Norse riða, Old Saxon ridan, Old Frisian rida "to ride," Middle Dutch riden, Dutch rijden, Old High Germn ritan, German reiten), from PIE *reidh- "to ride" (cognates: Old Irish riadaim "I travel," Old Gaulish reda "chariot"). Common to Celtic and Germanic, perhaps a loan word from one to the other.

Meaning "heckle" is from 1912; that of "have sex with (a woman)" is from mid-13c.; that of "dominate cruelly" is from 1580s. To ride out "endure (a storm, etc.) without great damage" is from 1520s. To ride shotgun is 1963, from custom of having an armed man beside the driver on the stagecoach in Old West movies to ward off trouble. To ride shank's mare "walk" is from 1846 (see shank (n.)).
ride (n.): 1759, "journey on the back of a horse or in a vehicle," from ride (v.); slang meaning "a motor vehicle" is recorded from 1930; sense of "amusement park device" is from 1934. Meaning "act of sexual intercourse" is from 1937. To take (someone) for a ride "tease, mislead, cheat," is first attested 1925, American English, possibly from underworld sense of "take on a car trip with intent to kill" (1927). Phrase go along for the ride in the figurative sense "join in passively" is from 1956. A ride cymbal (1956) is used by jazz drummers for keeping up continuous rhythm, as opposed to a crash cymbal (ride as "rhythm" in jazz slang is recorded from 1936).
rider (n.): "one who rides," Old English ridere "rider, trooper, knight, mounted warrior," agent noun from ride (v.). Meaning "clause tacked on to a document after first draft" is from 1660s. Related: Riderless.
ridership (n.): mid-15c., "position of a rider," from rider + -ship. From 1962 as "number of passengers" (on public transportation, etc.).
ridge (n.): Old English hrycg "back of a man or beast," probably reinforced by Old Norse hryggr "back, ridge," from Proto-Germanic *khrugjaz (cognates: Old Frisian hregg, Old Saxon hruggi, Dutch rug, Old High German hrukki, German Rücken "the back"), of uncertain origin. Also in Old English, "the top or crest of anything," especially when long and narrow. The connecting notion is of the "ridge" of the backbone. Spelling with -dg- is from late 15c. Ridge-runner "Southern Appalachian person" first recorded 1917.
ridgepole (n.): also ridge-pole, 1670s, from ridge (n.) + pole (n.1).
ridicule (v.): 1680s, "make ridiculous," from ridicule (n.) or else from French ridiculer, from ridicule. Meaning "make fun of" is from c. 1700. Related: Ridiculed; ridiculing.
ridicule (n.): 1670s, "absurd thing;" 1680s, "words or actions meant to invoke ridicule," from French ridicule, noun use of adjective (15c.), or from Latin ridiculum "laughing matter, joke," from noun use of neuter of ridiculus (see ridiculous).
"He who brings ridicule to bear against truth, finds in his hand a blade without a hilt." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]
ridiculous (adj.): 1540s, ridyculouse, from Latin ridiculosus "laughable," from ridiculus "that which excites laughter," from ridere "to laugh." Shakespeare and other 17c. writers sometimes spelled it rediculous. Slang extensions to "outrageous" (1839); "excellent" (1959, jazz slang). Related: Ridiculously; ridiculousness.
riding (n.2): one of the three districts into which Yorkshire was divided, late 13c., from late Old English *þriðing, a relic of Viking rule, from Old Norse ðriðjungr "third part," from ðriði "third" (see third). The initial consonant merged with final consonant of preceding north, west, or east.
riding (n.1): c. 1300, verbal noun from ride (v.). Meaning "teasing, annoying" is from 1927. Riding-hood, worn by women when riding or exposed to weather, is from mid-15c.
Riesling (n.): 1833, from German Riesling (15c.), the name of the grape, of uncertain origin.
rife (adj.): Old English rife "abundant, common, prevalent," from Proto-Germanic *rif- (cognates: Old Norse rifr, Swedish river, Norwegian riv, Middle Dutch riif, Middle Low German rive "abundant, generous"), said to be from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" "The prevalence of the word in early southern texts is in favour of its being native in English, rather than an adoption from Scandinavian." [OED]
riff (n.): "melodic phrase in jazz," 1935 (but said to have been used by musicians since c. 1917), of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortened form of riffle, or altered from refrain. The verb is attested from 1942, from the noun. Also in extended use. Related: Riffed; riffing.
riffle (v.): 1754, "to make choppy water," American English, perhaps a variant of ruffle "make rough." The word meaning "shuffle" (cards) is first recorded 1894, probably echoic; hence that of "skim, leaf through quickly" (of papers, etc.) is from 1922. Related: Riffled; riffling.
riffraff (n.): also riff-raff, late 15c., from earlier rif and raf "one and all, everybody, every scrap," also "sweepings, refuse" (mid-14c.), from Old French rif et raf, from rifler "to spoil, strip" (see rifle (v.)). Second element from raffler "carry off," related to rafle "plundering," or from raffer "to snatch, to sweep together" (see raffle (n.)).