Definition of Gordian knot

1. Noun. Any very difficult problem; insoluble in its own terms.

Generic synonyms: Problem

2. Noun. An intricate knot tied by Gordius, the king of Phrygia, and cut by the sword of Alexander the Great after he heard that whoever undid it would become ruler of Asia.
Generic synonyms: Knot

Definition of Gordian knot

1. Noun. The legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium. ¹

2. Noun. (by extension) Any intricate and complex problem. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Gordian Knot

Goosey Night
Goosnargh
Gopala
Gopalan's syndrome
Gopalganj District
Gopher State
Gopherus
Gopherus polypemus
Goran
Gorbachev
Gorbachevian
Gorbymania
Gordian
Gordian knot
Gordian knots
Gordie
Gordie Howe hat trick
Gordie Howe hat tricks
Gordimer
Gordium
Gordon
Gordon's sign
Gordon's symptom
Gordon Bennett
Gordon and Sweet stain
Gordon reflex
Gordon setter
Gordy

Literary usage of Gordian knot

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

1. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"It was there, in the temple of Zeus, that Alexander cut the famous gordian knot. Under its own name, ..."

2. History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné (1879)
"... Points—The great Antithesis—Failure of Conciliation—The gordian knot—A Council granted—Charles's Summons—Menaces—Altercations—Peace or War—Romanism ..."

3. The Monthly Review by Ralph Griffiths (1799)
"tied the gordian knot, but it must be granted that he attempts to cur it with no blunt weapons. Most of the observations had previously occurred to us, ..."

4. A History of Greece: From the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest, with by William Smith, George Washington Greene (1883)
"The gordian knot § 10. March through Cilicia. Battle of Issus. Victory. §11. Conquest of Phoenicia. Siege of Tyre. § 12. Alexander marches into Egypt ..."

5. Constitutional History of the United States from Their Declaration of by George Ticknor Curtis (1896)
"... cnt this gordian knot,—the Union,—and set freo the northern conscience from the restraints of the ..."

6. History of the Life and Times of James Madison by William Cabell Rives (1866)
"... not States — Proportional or Equal Representation of the States in the Federal Councils — gordian knot of the Convention — Madison, Read, Patterson, ..."

7. Rise of the Macedonian Empire by Arthur Mapletoft Curteis (1890)
"... famous gordian knot. In the citadel of the town (so runs the tale) was a waggon, in which, once upon a time, when the people were at strife, ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Gordian knot on Dictionary.com!Search for Gordian knot on Thesaurus.com!Search for Gordian knot on Google!Search for Gordian knot on Wikipedia!

Search

Translations