- puzzle (v.)
- 1590s, pusle "bewilder, confound," possibly frequentative of pose (v.) in obsolete sense of "perplex" (cf. nuzzle from nose). The noun meaning "state of being puzzled" is recorded from c.1600, from the verb; meaning "perplexing question" is from 1650s; that of "a toy contrived to test one's ingenuity" is from 1814.