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In this Adventure in Etymology we untangle the perplexing roots of the word perplexity.
Perplexity [pəˈplɛksɪti / pəɹˈplɛksəti] is:
- The state or quality of being perplexed (puzzled, confused, bewildered)
- Something that perplexes.
- (information theory) A measure of how well a probability distribution or model predicts a sample.
It comes from Middle English perplexite ([a state of] doubt, confusion), from Middle French perplexite (perplexed, uncertain), from Latin perplexitās (perplexity, state of bewilderment, obscurity), from perplexus (entangled, involved, intricate, confused, complicated), from per- (very) and plectēre (to weave, twist), from Proto-Italic *plektō, from PIE *pleḱ- (to fold, weave), from *pel- (to wrap) [source].
Words from the same roots include πλέκω (pléko – to knit, weave, tangle) in Greek, plést (to braid, plait, knit) in Czech, fläta (braid, plait) in Swedish, vlak (flat, place) in Dutch, and flax and flay in English [source].
The English suffix -plex, as in complex, duplex, multiplex, possibly comes from the same roots [source].
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I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.