Labyrinth definition | Dictionary.com

lab⋅y⋅rinth

[lab-uh-rinth]

–noun

1.	an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.

2.	a maze of paths bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who search for a way out.

3.	a complicated or tortuous arrangement, as of streets or buildings.

4.	any confusingly intricate state of things or events; a bewildering complex.

5.	(initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. a vast maze built in Crete by Daedalus, at the command of King Minos, to house the Minotaur.

Anatomy.

a.	the internal ear, consisting of a bony portion (bony labyrinth) and a membranous portion (membranous labyrinth).

b.	the aggregate of air chambers in the ethmoid bone, between the eye and the upper part of the nose.

7.	a mazelike pattern inlaid in the pavement of a church.

8.	a loudspeaker enclosure with air chambers at the rear for absorbing sound waves radiating in one direction so as to prevent their interference with waves radiated in another direction.

Origin:
1540–50; < L labyrinthus < Gk labýrinthos; r. earlier laborynt < ML laborintus, L, as above

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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inner ear
n. The portion of the ear located within the temporal bone that is involved in both hearing and balance and includes the semicircular canals, vestibule, and cochlea. Also called internal ear, labyrinth.

lab·y·rinth (lāb'ə-rĭnth')

1. An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.
2. Labyrinth Greek Mythology The maze in which the Minotaur was confined.
3. A group of complex interconnecting anatomical cavities.
4. See inner ear.
Something highly intricate or convoluted in character, composition, or construction: a labyrinth of rules and regulations.
Anatomy
1. A group of complex interconnecting anatomical cavities.
2. See inner ear.

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Labyrinth

Lab"y*rinth\, n. [L. labyrinthus, Gr. laby`rinthos: cf. F. labyrinthe.]

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.

2. Any intricate or involved inclosure; especially, an ornamental maze or inclosure in a park or garden.

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. --Milton.

The labyrinth of the mind. --Tennyson.

4. An inextricable or bewildering difficulty.

I' the maze and winding labyrinths o' the world. --Denham.

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. --Ure.

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

Syn: Maze; confusion; intricacy; windings.

Usage: 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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Labyrinth

Spanish: laberinto,

German: das Labyrinth,

Japanese: 迷路

More Translations »

Labyrinth

In classical mythology, a vast maze on the island of Crete. The great inventor Daedalus designed it, and the king of Crete kept the Minotaur in it. Very few people ever escaped from the Labyrinth. One was Theseus, the killer of the Minotaur.

Note: A labyrinth can be literally a maze or figuratively any highly intricate construction or problem.

labyrinth

1387, from L. labyrinthus, from Gk. labyrinthos "maze, large building with intricate passages," esp. the structure built to hold the Minotaur, from a pre-Gk. language; perhaps related to Lydian labrys "double-edged axe," symbol of royal power, which fits with the theory that the labyrinth was originally the royal Minoan palace on Crete and meant "palace of the double-axe." Used in Eng. for "maze" early 15c., and in figurative sense of "confusing state of affairs" (1548).

Main Entry: lab·y·rinth
Pronunciation: 'lab-&-"rin(t)th, -r&n(t)th
Function: noun
: a tortuous anatomical structure; especially : the inner ear or its bony or membranous part —see BONY LABYRINTH, MEMBRANOUS LABYRINTH

labyrinth lab·y·rinth (lāb'ə-rĭnth')
n.

A group of complex interconnecting anatomical cavities.
See inner ear.

labyrinth (lāb'ə-rĭnth') Pronunciation Key
The system of interconnecting canals and spaces that make up the inner ear of many vertebrates. The labyrinth has both a bony component, made up of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the vestibule, and a membranous one.

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