labyrinth means A maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur.; A complicated irregular network of passages or paths, especially underground or covered, in which it is difficult to find one's way.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, labyrinth ranks #7,102 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
labyrinth is pronounced /ˈlæb.ə.ɹɪnθ/.
Why “labyrinth” is a great word
A complex, often confusing, network of passages or paths, especially one from which it is difficult to find a way out. From Middle English laberynt, laberynthe, from Latin labyrinthus, from Ancient Greek λαβύρινθος (labúrinthos, "a maze"), a word of likely pre-Greek (Minoan) origin, possibly related to the Lydian word labrys meaning "double-edged axe," a symbol associated with the Palace of Knossos. Unlike a "maze" (a puzzle of deliberate dead ends and false choices) or a "tangle" (a chaotic snarl of accident), a labyrinth is a structured entanglement, a geometry of bewilderment made with intent. It is the cool stone beneath bare feet as one spirals inward toward the center of Knossos, the precise, meditative geometry of a cathedral floor walked on one's knees, and the recursive corridors of a bureaucracy where every door opens onto another identical hallway—the human compulsion to build order so elaborate that it becomes indistinguishable from imprisonment.
Etymology
From Middle English laberynt, laberynthe, from Latin labyrinthus, from Ancient Greek λᾰβύρῐνθος (lăbúrĭnthos, “a maze”).
noun
- A maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur.; A complicated irregular network of passages or paths, especially underground or covered, in which it is difficult to find one's way.
- A maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur.; A maze formed by paths separated by high hedges.
- A maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur.; A structure similar to a maze, but containing only one path with no branches, as distinguished from a maze which contains multiple branching paths
- A maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur.; Anything complicated and confusing in structure, arrangement, or character.e.g.“Whitney is absorbed especially by Dublin's unglamorous interstitial zones: the new housing estates and labyrinths of roads, watercourses and railways where the city peters into its commuter belt.”
- A tortuous anatomical structure:; A complex structure in the inner ear which contains the organs of hearing and balance, consisting of bony cavities (the bony labyrinth) filled with fluid and lined with sensitive membranes (the membranous labyrinth).
- A tortuous anatomical structure:; An accessory respiratory organ of certain fish.
- Any of various satyrine butterflies of the genus Neope.
verb
- To enclose in a labyrinth, or as though in a labyrinth.
- To arrange in the form of a labyrinth.e.g.“It is said to have been labyrinthed by secret exits and cunning contrivances to facilitate the escape of fugitives from the law.”
- To twist and wind, following a labyrinthine path.e.g.“We labyrinthed through it, meeting scores of panty-clad and moccasined Indians and barefoot women and girls toiling marketward under atrocious burdens; for the day was Sunday.”
- To become lost and confused, as if in a labyrinth.
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