Byzantine en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈbɪzəntiːn/ (US)
- (Australia) audio
- (US) audio
- (US) audio
- /bɪˈzæntaɪn/ (UK)
- /baɪˈzæntaɪn/ (UK)
- /ˈbɪzəntaɪn/ (US)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰuǵ-der. Thracian *būzasder. Ancient Greek Βῡ́ζᾱς (Bū́zās) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon) Ancient Greek Βῡζᾰ́ντῐον (Būzắntĭon)bor. Latin Bȳzantium Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnus Late Latin bȳzantīnusder. English Byzantine Borrowed from Late Latin bȳzantīnus, from Bȳzantium, from Ancient Greek Βυζάντιον (Buzántion). The figurative senses evoke the reputation for palace intrigue of the Byzantine imperial court.
Meanings
- Of or pertaining to Byzantium.
- Belonging to the civilization of the Eastern Roman Empire between 331, when its capital was moved to Constantinople, and 1453, when that capital was conquered by the Turks and ultimately renamed Istanbul.
- Of a style of architecture prevalent in the Eastern Empire down to 1453, marked by the round arch springing from columns or piers, the dome supported upon pendentives, capitals elaborately sculptured, mosaic or other encrustations, etc.
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(figuratively, lowercase, often) Overly complex or intricate, especially of bureaucracy.
Those following what has been dubbed “Pestminster” may nevertheless struggle to keep up with the Byzantine internal reporting structures, the range of accusations being levied and the sheer number of MPs involved.
2017 November 3, Julia Rampen, “A week in Pestminster”, in New Statesman:The byzantine, meandering processes of Icann are engineered in a way that avoids any dissent surfacing, all under the reassuring guise of consensus.
2014 July 1, Julia Powles, “The byzantine, meandering discussion on the future of the internet”, in The Guardian:a Byzantine system of regulations
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(figuratively, lowercase, often) Rigid, unceasing, inflexible.
Novelists, poets, and film directors vied with one another in Byzantine adulation of Stalin: this reached its peak in the post-war years, but was already highly developed in the period we are considering.
1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 92:
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(figuratively, lowercase, often) Devious and stealthy.
It’s also important to note that this analysis deals solely with intrinsic failure, or the odds of a conspiracy being exposed intentionally or accidentally by actors involved—extrinsic analysis by non-participants would also increase the odds of detection, rendering such Byzantine cover-ups far more likely to fail.
2016 January 26, David Robert Grimes, “On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs”, in PLOS One, volume 11, number 1, page 9:I never went through a time when more people told me not to trust other people on an issue. Perhaps they were all right. The internal politics were byzantine, much of it played out in the media.
2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 239:
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(qualifier:Eastern Orthodoxy) Of or relating to the Byzantine Rite or any of the many Eastern Orthodox churches and Greek Catholic churches that use this rite for their liturgical celebrations.
This was the crowning incident of our visit, and I wondered with what Byzantine ritual the Anointed One fresh from the exercise of his priestly functions would be received among his women.
1920 October, Edith Wharton, In Morocco, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 180:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byzantian | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most Byzantine | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| byzantine | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Bizantine | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| more Byzantine | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| Bizantian | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| Byzantinan | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Byzantinist · Byzantine attack · Byzantine scale · Byzantine fire · Byzantine fault tolerance · Byzantine Empire
Synonyms
Translations (76)
ca bizantí (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · pl bizantyński (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · hu bizánci (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pt bizantino (overly complex or intricate) · gl bizantino (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · hy բյուզանդական (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pl bizantyński (of a devious usually stealthy manner) · oc bizantin (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · da byzantinsk (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · es farragoso (overly complex or intricate) · fi bysanttilainen (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · ast bizantín (overly complex or intricate) · ast bizantín (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · nn bysantinsk (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · fr byzantin (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · pl bizantyjski (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · uk візанти́єць (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · nb bysantinsk (overly complex or intricate) · ro bizantin (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · ga Biosántach (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · fr byzantin (overly complex or intricate) · nb bysantinsk (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · da byzantinsk (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · de byzantinisch (overly complex or intricate) · ru византи́ец (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · de byzantinisch (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · da byzantinsk (overly complex or intricate) · grc Βῡζᾰντῐᾰκός (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · cy Bysantaidd (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · es sibilino (of a devious usually stealthy manner) · pl bizantyjski (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · nl Byzantijns (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · cs byzantský (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · fi bysanttilainen (overly complex or intricate) · mk византиски (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · sh Bizantínac (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · tr karmakarışık (overly complex or intricate) · sh bizàntīnskī (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · be візанты́йскі (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · sl bizantínski (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · hu bizánci (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · mk византиски (overly complex or intricate) · ga Biosántach (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · gl bizantino (overly complex or intricate) · pal 𐭧𐭫𐭥𐭬𐭠𐭣𐭩𐭪 (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pl bizantyński (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · sv bysantinsk (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pl bizantyński (overly complex or intricate) · ms Bizantium (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · fi bysanttilainen (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · lv bizantisks (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · ar بِيزَنْطِيّ (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · pl bizantyjski (overly complex or intricate) · ar بِيزَنْطِيّ (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · sh bizàntīnskī (overly complex or intricate) · fr byzantin (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · ro bizantin (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · ru византи́йский (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · uk візанті́йський (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · mk Византиец (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · tr Bizans (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · sv bysantinsk (overly complex or intricate) · nb bysantinsk (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pt bizantino (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pt bizantino (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · it bizantino (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · tr Bizans (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · ru византи́йский (overly complex or intricate) · es bizantino (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · pl bizantyjski (of a devious usually stealthy manner) · es bizantino (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · el βυζαντινός (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · ca bizantí (of or pertaining to Byzantium) · hy բյուզանդական (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · he ביזנטי (belonging to the civilisation of the Eastern-Roman empire) · de byzantinisch (of a devious usually stealthy manner)