Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LAB'Y-RINTH, n. [L. labyrinthus; Gr. λαβυρινθος.]

1. Among the ancients, an edifice or place full of intricacies, or formed with winding passages, which rendered it difficult to find the way from the interior to the entrance. The most remarkable of these edifices mentioned, are the Egyptian and the Cretan labyrinths. – Encyc. Lempriere.
2. A maze; an inexplicable difficulty.
3. Formerly, an ornamental maze or wilderness in gardens. – Spenser.
4. A cavity in the ear. – Quincy.