Word.ws English Dictionary

Gordian knot

UK/ˈɡɔːdɪən ˈnɒt//ˈɡoʊɹdɪən ˈnɑt/

Gordian knot noun: the legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.

Noun

Gordian knot (plural Gordian knots)

  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...
    • The knot which you thought a Gordian one, will untie itself before you.1785 August 19, Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr

Gordian knot meaning in Tamil and Kannada

Gordian knot in Tamil

குழப்பமான சிக்கல், கடுஞ்சிக்கலான புதிர்

Gordian knot in Kannada

ಕಗ್ಗಂಟು, ಕಡುಗಂಟು, ಕಡಿಗಂಟು

Forms of Gordian knot

pluralGordian knots

Origin of Gordian knot

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.

Words formed from Gordian knot

Questions about Gordian knot

What does Gordian knot mean?
Gordian knot means the legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.
What is Gordian knot in Tamil?
Gordian knot in Tamil is குழப்பமான சிக்கல், கடுஞ்சிக்கலான புதிர். See Gordian knot meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is Gordian knot?
Gordian knot is a noun.
How do you pronounce Gordian knot?
Gordian knot is pronounced /ˈɡɔːdɪən ˈnɒt/ (UK).
What is the plural of Gordian knot?
The plural of Gordian knot is Gordian knots.

Words near Gordian knot in the dictionary

  1. Gorder
  2. Gorders
  3. Gordhan
  4. gordiaceous
  5. gordian
  6. Gordian knot
  7. Gordian knots
  8. Gordian worm
  9. Gordian worms
  10. Gordias
  11. Gordie

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Gordian knot (page history and authors); Gordian knot (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gordian knot (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-Gordian knot.ogg.

Cite this entry: “Gordian knot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gordian_knot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.