Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Gordian
Gor′di-an
,Adj.
1.
Pertaining to Gordius, king of Phrygia, or to a knot tied by him; hence, intricate; complicated; inextricable.
Gordian knot
, an intricate knot tied by Gordius in the thong which connected the pole of the chariot with the yoke. An oracle having declared that he who should untie it should be master of Asia, Alexander the Great averted the ill omen of his inability to loosen it by cutting it with his sword. Hence, a Gordian knot is an inextricable difficulty; and to cut the Gordian knot is to remove a difficulty by bold and energetic measures.
2.
(Zool.)
Pertaining to the Gordiacea.
Gor′di-an
,Noun.
(Zool.)
One of the Gordiacea.
Webster 1828 Edition
Gordian
GORD'IAN
,Adj.
Gordian knot, in antiquity, a knot in the leather or harness of Gordius, a king of Phrygia, so very intricate, that there was no finding where it began or ended. An oracle declared that he who should untie this knot should be master of Asia. Alexander, fearing that his inability to untie it should prove an ill augury, cut it asunder with his sword. Hence, in modern language, a Gordian knot is an inextricable difficulty; and to cut the Gordian knot, is to remove a difficulty by bold or unusual measures.