Maze

Maze

Noun / Verb · /meɪz/

Definition

(Noun) a complex network of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way without becoming lost; a labyrinth; a confusing or complex situation or system; (Verb, archaic) to bewilder, to confuse.

Origin

From Middle English mase (bewilderment, confusion), from Old English *masian (to confuse, to bewilder), related to Norwegian dialect mas (exhausting work). The word is related to the verb amaze — to overwhelm with wonder or astonishment — which originally meant to bewilder or confuse rather than to astonish positively. The physical garden maze or labyrinth sense developed from the mental bewilderment sense.