Dictionary

Gordian knot en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɡɔːdɪən ˈnɒt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɡoʊɹdɪən ˈnɑt/ (US)

Etymology

From the name of a legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium. It was prophesied that whoever loosed the knot would become ruler of all Asia. Alexander the Great solved the puzzle by slicing through the knot and took it as a sign of Zeus' favor. He then proceeded to conquer much of the known world.

Meanings

1. (Greek) The legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.
2. (broadly) Any intricate and complex problem having a simple solution.
   • List his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle rend'red you in music; Turn him to any cause of policy, The Gordian knot of it he will unloose. 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
   • The knot which you thought a Gordian one, will untie itself before you. 1785 August 19, Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr:
   • The right hon. gentleman, who was doubtless aware of the popularity of the old English saying, "what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander," shrewdly judged that he could not go far wrong if he cut the Gordian knot in which the publican's disagreement was bound, by declaring his conviction that what was good for the Crown and Cushion, in the Strand, was likewise good for the Three Jolly Tinkers, in Brick Lane; and that, to put an end to the vexed question, the shortest way would be to tar them all with the same brush. 1881, James Greenwood, chapter 10, in Low-Life Deeps:
   • Mr. Tooke thought he had answered this question satisfactorily, and loosened the Gordian knot of grammarians[…] 1825, William Hazlitt, “The Late Mr. Horne Tooke”, in The Spirit of the Age […] , London: Printed for Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

cut the Gordian knot

Relateds

Gordius · Gordium

Translations (52)

sh Гордијев чвор (mythical knot) · sv gordisk knut (mythical knot) · ro nod gordian (intricate problem) · ru го́рдиев у́зел (mythical knot) · es nudo gordiano (mythical knot) · uk го́рдіїв ву́зол (intricate problem) · bg го́рдиев въ́зел (mythical knot) · sl gordijski vozel (intricate problem) · no gordisk knute (intricate problem) · ja ゴルディオスの結び目 (mythical knot) · uk го́рдіїв ву́зол (mythical knot) · no gordisk knute (mythical knot) · sh Gordijev čvor (mythical knot) · rsk Ґордийов ґузел (mythical knot) · cs gordický uzel (mythical knot) · sv gordisk knut (intricate problem) · ja ゴルディオスの結び目 (intricate problem) · fi Gordionin solmu (mythical knot) · da gordisk knude (mythical knot) · pt nó górdio (intricate problem) · be го́рдзіеў ву́зел (mythical knot) · ro nod gordian (mythical knot) · nl gordiaanse knoop (intricate problem) · fi Gordionin solmu (intricate problem) · hu gordiuszi csomó (intricate problem) · ru го́рдиев у́зел (intricate problem) · it nodo gordiano (mythical knot) · hy գորդյան հանգույց (mythical knot) · fr nœud gordien (mythical knot) · sl gordijski vozel (mythical knot) · ca nus gordià (mythical knot) · de Gordischer Knoten (mythical knot) · it nodo gordiano (intricate problem) · cmn 戈耳狄俄斯之結 /戈耳狄俄斯之结 (mythical knot) · hy գորդյան հանգույց (intricate problem) · el γόρδιος δεσμός (intricate problem) · fr nœud gordien (intricate problem) · mk гордиев јазол (mythical knot) · li Górdische knoup (intricate problem) · el γόρδιος δεσμός (mythical knot) · li Górdische knoup (mythical knot) · hu gordiuszi csomó (mythical knot) · pl węzeł gordyjski (mythical knot) · is Gordíans hnúturinn (mythical knot) · pl węzeł gordyjski (intricate problem) · cs gordický uzel (intricate problem) · sq nyja gordiane (intricate problem) · is Gordíans hnúturinn (intricate problem) · pt nó górdio (mythical knot) · sk gordický uzol (mythical knot) · es nudo gordiano (intricate problem) · da gordisk knude (intricate problem)