maze
/ˈmeɪz/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms mazes mazing mazed
- noun A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.
- noun Something made up of many confused or conflicting elements; a tangle.
- noun (archaic) A confusion of thought; a state of bewilderment.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To amaze, astonish, bewilder.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To daze or stupefy.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A former prison in Northern Ireland; in full, HM Prison Maze.
- proper noun A townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, the site of the former prison (Irish grid ref J 2261).
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Delaware Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English mase, from Middle English masen (“to perplex, bewilder”); or perhaps from Old English *mæs (“delusion, bewilderment”); akin to Old English āmasian (“to perplex, confound”), Icelandic masa (“to chatter”). More at amaze.
* As an English surname, variant of Mays.
* As an English and Irish surname, variant of Maye, from Irish Ó Miadhaigh (“descendant of Miadhach”), see miadh (“esteem, respect”). Compare May.
* As a Breton surname Mazé, shortened from Mazéo, Breton form of Matthew.
* As a French surname Mazé, from a place in Maine-et-Loire, from Latin Masiacum (“estate of Masius”).
* Also as a French surname, shortened pet form of Thomas.
* Also as a French surname, variant of Mas, from the noun mas (“farmhouse”).
* As a Slovene surname, shortened from Tomaž, a form of Thomas. Or, from the verb mazati (“to grease”).
* As an Ashkenazic Jewish surname, from Hebrew מאז״ה (Mazeh), an acronym of מִזֶּרַע אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן (mi-zéra' Aharón ha-Kohén, “from the seed of Aaron the priest”), compare Cohen.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A wild fancy; a confused notion. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- noun Confusion of thought; perplexity; uncertainty; state of bewilderment.
- verb To perplex greatly; to bewilder; to astonish and confuse; to amaze. South.
- verb To be bewildered. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Etymology [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw. masa to bask, be slow, work slowly and lazily, mas slow, lazy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “maze”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details