Labyrinth definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (17)

American Heritage Dictionary (5)

noun An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.
noun Greek Mythology The maze in which the Minotaur was confined.
noun Something highly intricate or convoluted in character, composition, or construction: a labyrinth of rules and regulations.

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Century Dictionary (9)

An intricate combination of passages running into one another from different directions, in which it is difficult or impossible to find the way from point to point, or to reach the place of exit from the interior, without a clue or guide; a maze. The name was anciently given to an edifice with a complicated system of passages connecting a great number of chambers. At the present day it is used especially of a geometrical arrangement of paths or alleys between high hedges in a park or garden, which lead confusedly back and forth, many of them ending in a cul-de-sac, but, when correctly followed, terminating in a central space, often occupied by a pavilion or the like. The most authentic and celebrated ancient labyrinth was that in Egypt near Arsinoë or Crocodilopolis ou Lake Mœris, having 3,000 rooms in two tiers, one of which was subterranean. The Cretan labyrinth, ascribed to Dædalus, was the abode of the fabled monster Minotaur. In medieval churches the labyrinth, formed of tiles or slabs of different colors in the pavement usually of the nave, was a frequent feature. Such labyrinths were formed on a square, circular, or octagonal plan, and were sometimes of such extent that it required 2,000 steps or more to follow their course. These labyrinths were considered emblematic of Christ's progress from Jerusalem to Calvary, and were followed with certain forms of prayer by the pious on their knees, either as a penance or in lieu of a pilgrimage. A number of them survive, as in the cathedrals of chartres and Bayeux, France; but many of the most important have been destroyed, for the reason that, having become mere objects of curiosity, they furnished occasion for disturbance of the religions services. The best known modern labyrinths are that of the garden of Versailles in France and “the maze” of Hampton Court near London. He cranks and crosses with a thousand doubles; The many musets through the which he goes Are like a labyrinth to amaze his foes. Shak., Venus and Adonis, I. 684.
Any confused complication of objects, lines, ideas, etc.; any thing or subject characterized by intricate turnings or windings; a perplexity. No thread is left else To guide us from this labyrinth of mischief. Fletcher, Double Marriage, ii. 3. Whereby men wander in the darke, and in labyrinthes of errour. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 32. The ingenuous Reader, without further amusing himselfe in the labyrinth of controversall antiquity, may come the speediest way to see the truth vindicated. Milton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst., Pref. Though you cannot see when you take one step what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, aud never fear their leading you out of the labyrinth. Jefferson, Correspondence, I. 286. In the elephant, the porpoise, the higher apes, and man, the cerebral surface appears a perfect labyrinth of tortuous foldings. Huxley, Man's Place in Nature, p. 114.
The internal ear; the essential organ of hearing. It consists of a series of communicating cavities in the petrous portion of the temporal bone, called the osseous labyrinth, and of the membranous labyrinth contained in it. The osseous labyrinth consists of the cavity known as the vestibule, the three semicircular canals, and the cochlea. The vestibule communicates with the tympanum by the fenestra ovalis, which is closed by a membrane and the foot of the stapes. The fenestra rotunda opens from the beginning of the cochlea into the tympanum. It is closed by a membrane. See ear, cochlea.

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"It's called the labyrinth because when there's a party and it's dark and you're a little out of it, all the winding halls and bedrooms can be a bit confusing," says current resident and former Crimson Associate Business Manager Tyler W. Bosmeny '09. — The Harvard Crimson :: News
Investigators believe the labyrinth was so complicated that Gordon Stewart, 74, may have become lost inside it.
The reason that bettas are so popular in very small tanks is that they are equipped with a lung-like gill adaptation, called a labyrinth organ, that enables them to breathe air. — All Categories Featured Content - Associated Content
Sponsored by seven area congregations as a unique spiritual growth opportunity, the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice and a rich tool for pilgrimage and reflection.
Times for entering the labyrinth are Sunday, April 5 from 4 to 8: 30 p.m.,

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maze · warren · jumble · vista · cavern · chasm · intricacy · tangle · expanse · panorama · abyss · grotto

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English laberinthe, from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek laburinthos; possibly akin to labrus, double-headed axe, of Lydian origin.

Century Dictionary (2)

Formerly also labirinth, labrinth; = French labyrinthe = Spanish laberinto = Portuguese laberintho, labyrin tho = Italian labirinto, from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek λαβύρινθος, a structure having many intricate passages, a maze, prob. from λαύρα (also written, less properly, λάβρα), an alley, lane: see laura.
from labyrinth, n.

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