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Myth & LegendGreek → English

Labyrinth

A complex, confusing network of paths.

The Greek roots

λαβύρινθος
labýrinthos
maze of the Minotaur

Literally: “the maze of Crete”

The story of the word

The labyrinth built to hold the Minotaur became the word for any bewildering maze — real or figurative.

The same roots elsewhere

Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.

In a sentence

The old town was a labyrinth of narrow lanes.

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