I presume “labyrinth” is connected, etymologically, to the word, “labrys”–?

A labyrinth is very different from a maze and I get annoyed when the words are used interchangeably. A labyrinth is a single, continuous path on which no one can get lost or confused. A maze has walls that make it impossible to see the exit and contains many dead-end paths intended to confuse. A person in a maze has to concentrate on finding the correct path out; a walker in a labyrinth has no such concerns. That distinction is, in fact, why people walk along labyrinths as part of meditative exercises.

I like the story about the tree. Keep up the good work

The article is most probably right in arguing that Labyrinth is identifiable with a maze and comes from an unknown language and was absorbed by the Greeks.

But another version is that it originally meant something quite different from maze. It could have been double-headed axe, laby meaning two or double (think human lips) and rinth for an axe. The double headed axe would have been some sort of symbol for royal power; there are several examples of frescoes showing Cretan double headed axes.

Somewhere along the line of history the word for a symbol for royal power became the word for another symbol for royal power. Might be far-fetched but interesting nonetheless how the meanings and concepts of words can change over time.

Love thesarus on dictionary……

Don’t forget about Pan’s Labyrinth…

Oh what, Pan’s Labyrinth doesn’t even get a mention?

Since sugestions had been made from different personels.What then is correct about the word Labyrinth?

I teach the history of landscape design. In the field of landscape architecture a labyrinth is for meditation, a walkway offering no choices leading to a center and then out again. A maze offers choices, most of which lead to dead ends.

I agree that labyrinth and maze are confused, but we can not blame English language speakers. The confusion lies deeper. My English dictionaries give maze and labyrinth as synonyms. The French have resorted to borrowing a word from the Germans (Irrgarten) to distinguish a maze from a labyrinth. For the French to borrow a German word speaks of desperation to me!

Excuse my French, but Jardins, Potagers et Labyrinthes by Lucia Impelluso says, “Le labyrinthe présuppose un parcours difficile et tortueux, mais d’une issue favorable; l’Irrgarten (“labyrinthe”) met l’accent sur l’irrationalité du cheminement et sur le sens du désarroi qui en découle.” p. 163

My translation: “The labyrinth presupposes a difficult and tortuous path, but with a favorable outcome. The Irrgarten places the stress on the irrationality of the road and on the sense of disorientation which results.”

I have a book about about mazes and labyrinths, but can’t lay my hands on it at the moment. Will write again when I find it.

Yes, Keith. In my studies, the double-headed ax or labrys was prevalent in the Minoan culture. I’ve never clearly understood the connection between the maze and the ax, but I like your idea of a word for power. Words evolve.

[...] ‘Labyrinth’ of lexical Investigations — Round and round she goes — Whether balaclava and forth — Neither Saussure he knows — The incoming, outgoing — Awesome awfully shows — It’s still all Greek to US. — Baby in a Maze or puzzle — Running from Minotaur’s muzzle — First to wash and later to the labyrinth. –>>L.T.Rhyme This entry was posted in DICTCOMHOTWORD, L.T.Rhyme, RLTR and tagged LT, LTRhyme, RLTR, the HOT WORD on March 6, 2013 by LTRhyme. [...]

@Dr. OutreAmour. Modern, or at least post-twelfth to fourteenth century, definitions of labyrinth are generally consistent with your definition. However the traditional definition dates back to antiquity where it quite literally meant maze, in which the ancient Greek λαβύρινθος (which is surprisingly close to the modern day spelling) refers to a convoluted structure much like that in the palace of Knosos which is largely understood to be the basis of the Minotaur tale. The palace of Knosos contained in it an intricate array of passageways, chambers and antechambers which produce an abundance of dead ends and no “singular path”. You can probably thank the Christian church for the dual meaning, they popularized the meditation paths in the West, referring to them primarily as “labyrinths”. However they only resemble a labyrinth in the traditional sense, really they are meant to symbolize the long and arduous path to god/enlightenment/fulfillment.

Labryinth is also used in the Percy Jackson series

I love reading these articles about the history of words and the world itself.

do investigation on pegasus

I just watched a cooking show where I heard that the idea of a labyrinth most likely comes from dealing with intestines.

It is wrong to assume that a technical definition is somehow more correct than the popular one. Here, if anything, the reverse is true, since Theseus would not have needed a ball of yarn to find his way out of a labyrinth that had only one possible route! The OED regards the terms “labyrinth” and “maze” as synonyms, giving as it’s definition of “labyrinth” “A structure consisting of a number of intercommunicating passages arranged in bewildering complexity, through which it is difficult or impossible to find one’s way without guidance; a maze.”

Sorry, I just wrote “it’s” instead of “its” and there is no edit feature in this forum. I blush.

What about “Pan’s Labyrinth”? It’s the most beautiful film in pop culture about a labyrinth!

HI…LOVE WORDS…THANKS FOR ALL THAT. AS FOR LABYRINTH AND ITS VARIOUS MEANINGS..I CAN’T EVEN MAKE UP MY MIND ABOUT MY NAME!

It was always my understanding that a maze has portions where there are dead ends, and is for a game of fun. A labyrinth has no dead ends, and is a test of skill often with codes inside or messages and is more of a punishment or tourture, so no landmarks can be set up since there are no dead ends. I have never heard of it for meditation. It sounds like the word has been adapted to have this modern meaning for a meditative labyrinth, perhaps for landscaping purposes? In Greek Mythology, however, there was no escape from the labyrinith and it was always called a labyrinth. Since Shakespear uses myths, like most scholars and educated people in his time, he used that word to mean tourture, not meditative.

from the online OED:
Explains the double-headed ax reference as a possible origin of the word labyrinth:

labyrinth (n.)
c.1400, laberynthe (late 14c. in Latinate form laborintus) “labyrinth, maze,” figuratively “bewildering arguments,” from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labyrinthos “maze, large building with intricate passages,” especially the structure built by Daedelus to hold the Minotaur near Knossos in Crete, from a pre-Greek 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 English for “maze” early 15c., and in figurative sense of “confusing state of affairs” (1540s).

Amaz!ng

Being Greek myself,i can assure you that “labyrinth” was of uncertain origin until absorbed into the language through the above Myth,thus giving it the definition of an intricate structure where entrance and exit are vague and hardly discovered.One must consider that in Greek,”Labyrinth”has not one synonym,whereas in English it has at least one of profound connection(maze).
Nevertheless,the word took it’s route through history to come to the meaning we all are aware of,I don’t believe there’s any reason of usage with disregard to that.

The first unicursal labyrinth, not a maze pattern is thought to be about 4000 years old, founld on the isle of Crete, called the classical 7 circuit labyrinth and sometimes called the Cretan labyrinth. Many different patterns have been found throughout the world over the ages including the Hopi Native Americans “man in the basket” that shares the most ancient pattern. The second most famous pattern was built into the stone floor of the Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral around 1100 AD. Ironically, I own a large canvas replica which I bring to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, NY, every Lent–where I am this very minute. We will take it down at 7 this evening

@Dr. OutreAmour on March 5, 2013 at 9:31 am

You are the one who is confused about the definitions. I assume you have heard of the context where people walk along labyrinths as part of meditative exercises. Thus, you must share your inaccurate “knowledge” for all to hear. People use the words maze and labyrinth interchangeably because they are synonyms. Your argument is invalid.

Greek mythology always interested me. I have any friends that are Greek and have theories about this article, but I found it necessary to look it up myself.
So what did I do?
I woke up in the morning, slapped my alarm oclock (how many other people make his mistake) excuseme *cough cough* alarm CLOCK, and did some internet searching. The dictionary? How would that help me?
I thank you, dictionary.com
God bless you all
And to all a good night
And… scene

had a conversation about the differences between a maze and labyrinth in school a few weeks back.

it ended with me in bed with a migraine

professors please refrain from screaming

Thanks

Interestingly, this topic and its responses bring up an interesting subject: My Lakota grandfather (who was Lakota and spoke before the United Nations as the representative of all native people in the Americas) always said that the English language is very dangerous because its roots are in anglo-saxon, latin and german and so on. He was perturbed by words like “and”, “but”, “if” etc, but what he really meant is that it is entirely philosophical to exchange views on whether or not a “labyrinth” and a “maze” are essentially the same; now suppose you need to get from here to there, a half-man half-bull enraged beast meaning to kill you somewhere in between, and the question whether or not “labyrinth” and “maze” are the same thing in the English language is no longer philosophical. Because if one was to find themselves in such a situation and would need to know whether the way through a labyrinth is by strictly and only following the path, or if it is a maze where straying is strongly encouraged and every mistake is a step closer to success, the Greek person will know the difference and tell you. If he says “labyrinth”, that’s what he means.
Probably not an educated person, but most any English speaking person will just tell you not to worry about it because it’s “essentially” the same thing.
It is? Essentially? Really?

Apparently, it’s up for debate so sadly yes, “really”. But as for “essentially”, how can you refine the essence of something that is, essentially, a strawberry pineapple banana something? Thank God for Dictionary.com where at least, if people “choose” to add or take away meaning from a word, they’ll at least let us know that much so that next time we poor mortals are up against a Minotaur on a bad day, they’ll let us know!

To OutreAmour
Funny–the term “labyrinth” is defined as: an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one’s way or to reach the exit. Synonyms: maze, network, web. This seems to parallel with the ancient Greek.

Wow! How interesting! Another version of how the “labyrinth” came to be. I always was taught that Daedalas had to make the labyrinth in order to contain the Minotaur that Queen Pasiphae fell in love with because she mocked Aphrodite’s existence.

How can we trust that the word Labyrinth does in fact, come from a language unkown and previous to Latin and Greek? Is there no source for this kind of knowledge?

Although he calls it The Pattern (and The Logrus), the construct walked by the characters in Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber” is clearly a labyrinth. The characters walk this construct, and its reflections, with great difficulty but gain control over the shadow worlds by completing the Pattern.

@Dr. AmourOutre on March 7, 2013 at 6:00 pm

The inability of the general public to distinguish between a labyrinth and a maze does not imply that they are the same thing, nor does the fact that they are synonyms. “Big” and “tall” are generally considered synonyms, but tall means outsized in the vertical direction only, while big can mean outsized in any or multiple directions.

The public is notoriously uneducated. They think that “hopefully” means “I hope that” and “surprised” means “astonished.”

Wow. And the Labyrinth in the book “Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth” doesn’t get any mention? It’s practically the epitome of the word labyrinth. It’s a never ending maze where time runs faster and where you could pop up anywhere in the U.S.

yes. Thank you, Hunter

What pre-Greek language did it come from, that is what was promised and what was not delivered. “Some” is not an answer, not an acceptable answer anyway.

What a splendid word!

I thank all contributors for giving the common reader so much interest and pleasure.

@ Samuel Goodman

Think about it, the Percy Jackson series are based incredibly closely on Greek Myths, The labyrinth in the books is based exclusively on the Greek labyrinth. Why do you expect people to mention something like this, when the writer of the Percy Jackson series has literally taken Greek Mythology and given it a modern twist?

Adrian, I appreciate your learned, wise outline for thinking this through.
Thank you, Dr. Outre Amour for resolving this question.
The labyrinth, in the sense of arduous path with a certain end, is useful to people in my community. They use it for meditation, and to reflect on their lives and choices.
In no sense would the maze be useful for this; it’s too much like real life! Unlike real life mazes, labyrinths may be fun only for adults.
Children still delight in mazes.

I apologize ~ I see it’s “Dr. Amour Outre.”
Thanks for a satisfying discussion.

Well, I see it.
It’s “Dr. OutreAmour” after all.
Now, it’s I who blush!

Victoria Bergesen,
I hope you write again when you find that book.

The many musits through the which he goes

—William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, lines 679-684 (1593)

I find it interesting indeed, that the word ‘musits’ should appear on Dictionary.com, and yet there be not a hint of definition for same. I did however, find elsewhere on the internet, these two (more or less,) helpful items:

Fashion Then and Now: Illustrated by Anecdotes, Social, Political, Military by Lord William Pitt Lennox (1878)
“Cranks : winds. t musits. The term is explained in Markham’s ‘ Gentleman’s Academy, 1595. ” We term the place where she (the hare) sitteth, …”

and:

musit (ˈmjuːzɪt)

Definitions
noun

(East Anglia, dialect) a hole or gap in a fence or hedge through which animals pass; also muset (Collins Online)

I have heard and read a similar version of this post; labyrinth was said to be the wife of Satan and the hater of all children. Is this true?