Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Ingenious and complex in design or function; intricate.
  • adjective Finely or skillfully made or employed; artistic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • See dedal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Cunningly or ingeniously formed or working; skillful; artistic; ingenious.
  • adjective rare Crafty; deceitful.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Skilful, ingenious, cunning.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective complex and ingenious in design or function
  • noun (Greek mythology) an Athenian inventor who built the labyrinth of Minos; to escape the labyrinth he fashioned wings for himself and his son Icarus

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin daedalus, from Greek daidalos.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin daedalus, from Ancient Greek δαίδαλος ("skillful").

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Examples

Comments

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  • daedalus -- the cunning one -- built labyrinth at crete to confine minotaur; built wing of wax to escape labyrinth for he and icarus

    January 7, 2007

  • "He led Stephen through a daedal of passages and stables to a courtyard..."

    --O'Brian, The Wine-Dark Sea, 169

    February 9, 2008

  • I sang of the dancing stars,

    I sang of the daedal earth,

    And of heaven, and the giant wars,

    And love, and death, and birth.

    - Percy Bysshe Shelley, 'Hymn Of Pan'.

    June 24, 2009

  • "Her heels click as she descends into the street. Alone, I turn to face the wall. I stare at the daedal patterns on the wallpaper."

    Fish in Exile by Vi Khi Nao, p 21

    May 23, 2017