different between undulation vs labyrinth

English

Etymology

undulate +? -ion, or borrowed from Medieval Latin undul?ti?; compare French ondulation.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

undulation (countable and uncountable, plural undulations)

1. An instance or act of undulating.
   • 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka (republished by Eland, 2019; p. 77):

     But the next undulation would raise us, showing the island ablaze in the sunlight, an emerald of dazzling beauty resting lightly on the bosom of the sea.

2. A wavy appearance or outline; waviness.
3. (music) A tremulous tone produced by a peculiar pressure of the finger on a string.
4. A wavelike curve; a smooth and regular rise and fall.
5. A wavelike motion of the air; electromagnetic radiation.
6. (medicine, dated) A feeling as if of an undulatory motion about the heart.
7. (medicine, dated) The distinctive motion of the matter within an abscess on being pressed when it is ripe for opening.

Derived terms

• undulationist

Translations

References

• undulation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French labyrinthe or Latin labyrinthus, from Ancient Greek ?????????? (labúrinthos, “a maze”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?læb.?.??n?/, /?læb.??n?/

Noun

labyrinth (plural labyrinths)

1. (Greek mythology) a maze-like structure built by Daedalus in Knossos, containing the Minotaur
   1. a complicated irregular network of passages or paths, especially underground or covered, in which it is difficult to find one's way

      Synonym: maze

   2. a maze (as in a garden) formed by paths separated by high hedges
   3. anything complicated and confusing in structure, arrangement, or character
2. (anatomy) a tortuous anatomical structure:
   1. (anatomy) a complex structure in the inner ear which contains the organs of hearing and balance. It consists of bony cavities (the bony labyrinth) filled with fluid and lined with sensitive membranes (the membranous labyrinth)
   2. (zoology) an accessory respiratory organ of certain fish
3. any of various satyrine butterflies of the genus Neope

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

labyrinth (third-person singular simple present labyrinths, present participle labyrinthing, simple past and past participle labyrinthed)

1. to enclose in a labyrinth, or as though in a labyrinth
2. to arrange in the form of a labyrinth
3. to twist and wind, following a labyrinthine path
4. to render lost and confused, as if in a labyrinth

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “labyrinth”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN
• “labyrinth”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “labyrinth”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).