labyrinth English · revision 2432

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlæb.ə.ɹɪnθ/, /ˈlæb.ɹɪnθ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|laberinthe]], earlier ''laborintus'',^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la|labyrinthus]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|grc|λαβύρινθος|tr=labúrinthos]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a word of unknown, probably pre-Greek origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) It has been connected with Lydian ''labrys'' “double-headed axe”, a symbol of royal power, so that it would mean “palace of the double axe”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) but Beekes considers this speculative.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The great building with intricate passages built by Daedalus in Crete to hold the Minotaur, and similar structures of antiquity (1387).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in Middle English the word was used figuratively for bewildering arguments.^(Etymonline) It was extended to garden mazes of high hedges (1611),^(OED 1989) to any tangle of streets or physical features (1615),^(OED 1989) and to any confusing state of affairs (1548).^(Barnhart 1995) In anatomy it names the complex cavities of the inner ear.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1380–1387 – the labyrinth of classical antiquity.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1548 – a confusing, complicated state of affairs.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1611 – a garden maze.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1615 – any intricate arrangement of features or buildings.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1808 – verb, to enclose as in a labyrinth.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An intricate network of passages in which it is hard to find one's way; a maze.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Greek mythology)'' The maze in which the Minotaur was kept.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something highly intricate or convoluted.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The inner ear, or a similar group of complex cavities.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[labyrinthian]]

+ * [[labyrinthine]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[maze]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}