English
Etymology
From L. Gordium, derived from Greek �ο�διον (Gordion), the capital city of ancient Phrygia
Adjective
Gordian
#Of or pertaining to Gordium, capital of Phrygia (now Yassihüyük in Turkey).
#Of the Gordian knot.
#twist|Twisted; convoluted; tied as a knot.
Quotations
timeline|
1600s=1667|
1800s=1819|
2000s=2005
1667 � w:John Milton|John Milton, s:Paradise Lost|Paradise Lost, Book IV
:close the serpent sly, / Insinuating, wove with Gordian twine / His braided train
1819 � w:John Keats|John Keats, s:Lamia|Lamia
:Until he found a palpitating snake,<br/>Bright, and cirque-couchant in a dusky brake.<br/>She was a gordian shape of dazzling hue,<br/>Vermilion-spotted, golden, green, and blue.
2005 � Lance Parkin|Lance Parkin, The Gallifrey Chronicles, p 205
:When you put it that way it was so simple, so self-explanatory, so beautiful, so obvious that what had seemed the most Gordian problem was instantly almost mundane, and its elegance was its own proof.
See also
Gordian knot
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