daedal

adjective

dae·​dal ˈdē-dᵊl 

1

a

: skillful, artistic

b

: intricate

the computer's daedal circuitry

2

: adorned with many things

visions of cloud and light and daedal earth are the airman's daily scene

—Laurence Binyon

Did you know?

Daedal and Greek Myth

You might know Daedalus as the mythological prisoner who fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete with his son Icarus. But it was as architect and sculptor, one said to have designed a labyrinth for King Minos on Crete, that he earned his name. Daedalus (from Greek daidalos) is Latin for "skillfully wrought." The same "skillful" Latin adjective gave English the adjectives daedal (in use since the 16th century) and Daedalian (or Daedalean), a synonym of daedal.

Synonyms

• baroque
• byzantine
• complex
• complicate
• complicated
• convoluted
• elaborate
• intricate
• involute
• involved
• knotty
• labyrinthian
• labyrinthine
• sophisticated
• tangled

Examples of daedal in a Sentence

the daedal workings of the chime clock are a marvel to behold

Word History

Etymology

Latin daedalus, from Greek daidalos

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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