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Byzantine

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: byzantine

English

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WOTD – 24 November 2006

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Late Latin byzantinus, itself from Byzantium. The metaphorical senses evoke the reputation for palace intrigue of the Byzantium imperial court.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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Byzantine (comparative more Byzantine, superlative most Byzantine)

  1. Of or pertaining to Byzantium.
  2. (history) Belonging to the civilization of the Eastern Roman Empire between 331, when its capital was moved to Constantinople, and 1453, when that capital was conquered by the Turks and ultimately renamed Istanbul.
  3. (architecture) Of a style of architecture prevalent in the Eastern Empire down to 1453, marked by the round arch springing from columns or piers, the dome supported upon pendentives, capitals elaborately sculptured, mosaic or other encrustations, etc.
  4. (figurative, often lower-case) Overly complex or intricate, especially of bureaucracy.
    a Byzantine system of regulations
    • 2014 July 1, Julia Powles, “The byzantine, meandering discussion on the future of the internet”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      The byzantine, meandering processes of Icann are engineered in a way that avoids any dissent surfacing, all under the reassuring guise of consensus.
    • 2017 November 3, Julia Rampen, “A week in Pestminster”, in New Statesman‎[2]:
      Those following what has been dubbed “Pestminster” may nevertheless struggle to keep up with the Byzantine internal reporting structures, the range of accusations being levied and the sheer number of MPs involved.
  5. (figurative, often lower-case) Of a devious, usually stealthy, manner or practice.
    • 2016 January 26, David Robert Grimes, “On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs”, in PLOS One‎[3], volume 11, number 1, page 9:
      It’s also important to note that this analysis deals solely with intrinsic failure, or the odds of a conspiracy being exposed intentionally or accidentally by actors involved—extrinsic analysis by non-participants would also increase the odds of detection, rendering such Byzantine cover-ups far more likely to fail.
    • 2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 239:
      I never went through a time when more people told me not to trust other people on an issue. Perhaps they were all right. The internal politics were byzantine, much of it played out in the media.
  6. (Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism) Of or relating to the Byzantine Rite or any of the many Eastern Orthodox churches and Greek Catholic churches that use this rite for their liturgical celebrations.
    • 1920 October, Edith Wharton, In Morocco‎[4], New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 180:
      This was the crowning incident of our visit, and I wondered with what Byzantine ritual the Anointed One fresh from the exercise of his priestly functions would be received among his women.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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Byzantine (countable and uncountable, plural Byzantines)

  1. (historical) A native of Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul) or of the Byzantine empire
  2. (numismatics) Alternative form of byzantine (coin)
  3. A dark, metallic shade of violet.
    byzantine:  

Translations

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