LOGOI

The corpus record

λᾰβύρινθ-ος

laburinthos

labyrinth

Generated live from the audited corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

  • Euthydemus 1 · 0.8/10k
  • Histories 7 · 0.38/10k

What it meant

1. λαβύρινθος · labyrinthos — Beekes

λαβύρινθος [m.] ‘labyrinth’, a great building with many corridors and turns, in Egypt (Hdt, Str., Crete (Call, D. S.), Anatolia (inscr. Miletus), etc; metaph. of complicated thoughts (PI.). *DIAL Myc. da-pu,-ri-to-jo /dap*urint*oio/. eCOMP λαβυρινθώδης ‘labyrinth-like, complicated’ (Arist.). eETYM A Pre-Greek word in -ινθος. The traditional connection with λάβρυς (acc. to Plu. 2,302a Lydian for πέλεκυς), … — [Beekes, s.v. λαβύρινθος, p. 866]

2. λαβύρινθος · labyrinthos — Chantraine

λαβύρινθος : «labyrinthe», monument compliqué comprenant divers bâtiments réunis par des passages, des couloirs contournés, etc. S'observe en Crète (Call. Del. 343, D.S.), en Égypte (Hdt., Str.), à Milet (Milet 7,56) ; employé au figuré pour des raisonnements tortueux (PL, etc.) ; avec, pour ce dernier sens, l'adj. λαδυρινθώδης (Acist., etc.). C’est en Crète que le terme s'emploie d’abord et il a dû s'appliquer … — [Chantraine, s.v. λαβύρινθος, p. 627]

3. λᾰβύρινθ-ος · labyrinth-os — LSJ

labyrinth, maze

labyrinth or maze, a large building consisting of numerous halls connected by intricate and tortuous passages: in Egypt, Hdt. 2.148, cf. Str. 17.1.37; in Crete, Call. Del. 311, D.S. 1.61: pl., σπήλαια καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἰκοδομητοὶ λαβύρινθοι Str. 8.6.2; name of a building at Rome, IG 14.1093; also at Miletus, Milet. 7.56, Supp.Epigr. 4.446 (iii/ii B. C., pl.).

2 rete mirabile Galeni

prov. of tortuous questions or arguments, ὥσπερ εἰς λ. ἐμπεσόντες, οἰόμενοι ἤδη ἐπὶ τέλει εἶναι περικάμψαντες πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ . . ἀνεφάνημεν ὄντες Pl. Euthd. 291b; λαβυρίνθων σκολιώτερα D.H. Th. 40; λόγοι λαβυρίνθοις ὅμοιοι Luc. Bis Acc. 21; λόγων λαβύρινθοι Id. Icar. 29; of ant-hills, Gal. UP 1.3; of the rete mirabile Galeni, Id. 5.608; of Lycophronʼs poem. AP 9.191; as name of a philosopher, Luc. Symp. 6.

II any wreathed, coiled up body, sea-snail, bow-net

any wreathed or coiled up body, εἰνάλιος λ. the twisted sea-snail, AP 6.224 (Theodorid.); ἐκ σχοίνων λ. bow-net of rushes, Theoc. 21.11.

In the wild

6 of 8 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

No etymology authority pointer is recorded for this lemma yet — an honest gap, not an omission. The etymological dictionaries (Beekes, Chantraine, Frisk) are matched incrementally.

Ask the librarian

Ask about λᾰβύρινθ-ος →