LABYRINTH • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Labyrinth

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/lˈæbərˌɪnθ/ Listen

noun

Labyrinth n.

1.

An edifice or place full of intricate passageways which render it difficult to find the way from the interior to the entrance; as, the Egyptian and Cretan labyrinths. Note: The Labyrinth of Classical Mythology was a vast maze constructed by Daedalus on the island of Crete, in order to confine the Minotaur; the task was done at the command of King Minos. One theory suggests that the myth had some basis in the structure of the palace of King Minos at Knossos, in Crete, it being a multistoried royal palace with labyrinthine passages between rooms.

2.

Hence: Any intricate or involved inclosure; especially, an ornamental maze or inclosure in a park or garden, having high hedges separating confusingly convoluted passages.

3.

Any object or arrangement of an intricate or involved form, or having a very complicated nature. "The serpent... fast sleeping soon he found, In labyrinth of many a round self-rolled." "The labyrinth of the mind."

4.

An inextricable or bewildering difficulty. "I' the maze and winding labyrinths o' the world."

5.

(Anat.) The internal ear. See Note under Ear.

6.

(Metal.) A series of canals through which a stream of water is directed for suspending, carrying off, and depositing at different distances, the ground ore of a metal.

7.

(Arch.) A pattern or design representing a maze, often inlaid in the tiled floor of a church, etc.

Synonyms: Maze; confusion; intricacy; windings. Labyrinth, Maze. Labyrinth, originally; the name of an edifice or excavation, carries the idea of design, and construction in a permanent form, while maze is used of anything confused or confusing, whether fixed or shifting. Maze is less restricted in its figurative uses than labyrinth. We speak of the labyrinth of the ear, or of the mind, and of a labyrinth of difficulties; but of the mazes of the dance, the mazes of political intrigue, or of the mind being in a maze.

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Etymology of 'Labyrinth'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Labyrinth" Quotes from Famous Books

... Master ad vitam, and an initiate of Lucifer. The doctor has explored these caverns, has seen the factory in full working order, has exhaustively described the way in, has returned from the gulf like Dante, and has given away the whole mystery. Possessed of his key to the labyrinth the wayfaring man shall not err therein, and it will, no doubt, be a new curiosity for the more daring among Cook's tourists. The workshops are supplied with mechanics by a simple expedient; hopeless specimens ...

— Devil-Worship in France - or The Question of Lucifer • Arthur Edward Waite

... the future Helplessly sense the fire. A serpentine nerve Impelled to lengthen itself generation after generation Pierces the labyrinth of flames ...

— Precipitations • Evelyn Scott

... the newcomers had scant opportunity to take in its details, for they were marched straight to a low doorway cut in the tremendously thick wall of the lower story of the building, which gave them admission to a long labyrinth of twisting passages, lighted only by the smoky flare of half a dozen torches. This network of passages they traversed for a distance which both of them estimated at fully five hundred yards, finally arriving at a small door which was flung open by a man who had ...

— The Adventures of Dick Maitland - A Tale of Unknown Africa • Harry Collingwood

... said Vera. "We shall be dreadfully late." She seemed to be mastered by an overpowering desire not to be left alone with Lawrence. She hurried forward with Nina, and Lawrence and I came more slowly behind. We were now in a labyrinth of little streets and black overhanging flats. Not a soul anywhere—only the moonlight in great broad flashes of light—once or twice a woman hurried by keeping in the shadow. Sometimes, at the far end of the street, we saw the ...

— The Secret City • Hugh Walpole

... afforded them a place of refuge. In some places along the shores, beds of rushes exist nine leagues long and one broad. In the midst of them there is an island, to which lanes were cut through the tangled mass. This watery labyrinth was navigated by the Indians in their balsas; and, secure in their retreat, they contrived to make inroads on the Spanish towns in the neighbourhood for a length of time. (These balsas are composed of reeds, tightly fastened together ...

— The Western World - Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North - and South America • W.H.G. Kingston

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