Daedalian

English

Alternative forms

• Daedalean, Dedalian

Etymology

From Daedalus +‎ -ian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈdeɪliən/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

Daedalian (comparative more Daedalian, superlative most Daedalian)

1. Ingeniously or cunningly designed; artistic, ingenious, intricate, skillful.
   • 1812, Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations volume 1, book 2, chapter 2, page 484, published in London by Cadell and Davies

     "The commerce and industry of the country, ... cannot be altogether so secure when they are thus, as it were, suspended upon the Daedalian wings of paper money as when they travel about upon the solid ground of gold and silver"

   • 2025 October 2, Dwight Garner, “Book Review: 'Shadow Ticket,' by Thomas Pynchon”, in The New York Times Book Review‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 October 2025:

     Hicks is both thwarter and thwartee of Daedalean plots. Aboard a train, the rhythm of the wheels sounds to him like "wottachump, wottachump, wottachump."

2. Difficult to comprehend due to complexity or intricacy.
3. Deceitful, duplicitous.

Derived terms

• daedalia