Lexic.us

Definition of Labyrinth

1. Noun. Complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost.

2. Noun. A complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibrium.

Definition of Labyrinth

1. n. 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.

Definition of Labyrinth

1. Noun. A maze, especially underground or covered. ¹

2. Noun. Part of the inner ear. ¹

3. Noun. (figuratively) Anything complicated and confusing, like a maze. ¹

4. Verb. To enclose in a labyrinth, or as though in a labyrinth. ¹

5. Verb. To arrange in the form of a labyrinth. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Labyrinth

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Labyrinth

1. 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. The internal ear. See Note under Ear. 6. 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. A pattern or design representing a maze, often inlaid in the tiled floor of a church, etc. Synonym: 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. Origin: L. Labyrinthus, Gr. Labyrinthos: cf. F. Labyrinthe. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Labyrinth

labrum articulare labrum glenoidale labrums labrus labrusca labryinth labrys labryses labs labs on a chip

labs on chips laburnine laburnum laburnums labware labyrinth (current term) labyrinth seal labyrinth supporting cells labyrinthal labyrinthectomy

labyrinthian labyrinthibranch labyrinthic labyrinthical labyrinthically labyrinthici labyrinthiform labyrinthine labyrinthine angiospasm labyrinthine apoplexy

Literary usage of Labyrinth

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Familiar Allusions: A Hand-book of Miscellaneous Information Including the by William Adolphus Wheeler, Charles Gardner Wheeler (1881)
"within the brazen doom Of the great labyrinth, slept both boy and labyrinth. 1. One of the most remarkable яш! mysterious monuments of ancient Egypt, ..."

2. Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray (1901)
"The Internal Ear or labyrinth. The internal ear is the essential part of the organ of hearing, receiving the ultimate distribution of the auditory nerve. ..."

3. Quain's Elements of Anatomy by Jones Quain, William Sharpey, Allen Thomson, John G. Cleland (1867)
"THE INTERNAL EAR, OR labyrinth. The inner, or sensory part of the organ of hearing, is contained in the petrous portion of the temporal bone. ..."

4. Anatomy of the Cat by Jacob Ellsworth Reighard, Herbert Spencer Jennings (1901)
"It is possible to distinguish a bony labyrinth and a membranous labyrinth (Fig. ... The membranous labyrinth repeats in general the form of the bony ..."

5. The Journal of General Physiology by Society of General Physiologists, Rockefeller Institute, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1920)
"Results of experiments on the labyrinth on which I have been engaged for a ... I have found on the one hand that a labyrinth from which the ampullae have ..."

6. A Text Book of Physiology by Michael Foster (1900)
"173), known by the name of the labyrinth, or bony labyrinth to distinguish it from the membranous labyrinth which lies within it, separated from it by the ..."

7. The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians by Charles Rollin (1800)
"... has been faid concerning the judgment V \ we ought to form of the pyramids, may alfo be applied to the labyrinth which Herodotus, who faw it, ..."

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