See Also: gordian(medicine)
Gordian(dictionary)
Gordian knot(dictionary)

Gordian (iou)



Gordian noun & adjective. M16.
[from Latin Gordius or Gordium (see sense B.1) + -AN.]
A. noun.
= Gordian knot below. M16-E18.
A native or inhabitant of Gordium in Phrygia. rare. E17.
b. adjective.
Gordian knot, an intricate knot tied by Gordius, king of Gordium, Phrygia, and cut through by Alexander the Great in response to the prophecy that only the future ruler of Asia could loosen it; fig. or allus., an extremely difficult problem or task, an indissoluble bond. L16.
cut the Gordian knot solve a problem by force or by evading the conditions.
Resembling the Gordian knot; intricate, convoluted, involved. E17.