Byzantine

Byzantine
1 of 2
adjective
Byz·;an·;tine ;bi-z;n-;t;n  ;b;-, -;t;n; b;-;zan-;t;n, b;-;zan-
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city of Byzantium
Byzantine art
2
architecture : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire especially in the fifth and sixth centuries featuring the dome carried on pendentives over a square and incrustation with marble veneering and with colored mosaics on grounds of gold
3
Christianity : of or relating to the churches using a traditional Greek rite and subject to Eastern (see eastern sense 2) canon law
4
often not capitalized
a
: of, relating to, or characterized by a devious and usually surreptitious manner of operation
a Byzantine power struggle
b
: intricately involved : labyrinthine
rules of Byzantine complexity
Byzantine

2 of 2
noun
: a native or inhabitant of Byzantium


Did you know?
Byzantine, a Word for History Buffs

Today, the city that lies on the Bosporus Strait in Turkey is named Istanbul, but it was once known as Constantinople (a name given to it when it became the capital of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire), and in ancient times, it was called Byzantium. Its history is exotic—filled with mystics, wars, and political infighting—and over time the word Byzantine (from Late Latin Byzantinus, the name for a native of Byzantium) became synonymous with anything characteristic of the city or empire, from architecture to intrigue. The figurative sense referring to a devious manner of operation first appeared in the late 1930s. It was popularized by frequent use in reference to the Soviet Union, whose secrecy and despotism were equated by Westerners with what went on in the old Byzantine Empire.

Synonyms
Adjective

baroque
complex
complicate
complicated
convoluted
daedal
elaborate
intricate
involute
involved
knotty
labyrinthian
labyrinthine
sophisticated
tangled
Examples of Byzantine in a Sentence
Adjective
spent his first year at the Pentagon just trying to fathom its byzantine workings
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The next invaders to occupy Athens were the Romans, who successfully besieged the city in 86 B.C.E. As the Roman Empire declined and the Byzantine Empire rose in the fourth century C.E., Athens lost importance, becoming a small village at the edge of Byzantine territory.
—Demetrios Ioannou, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Aug. 2024
The sixth century Byzantine bucket, likely made in Turkey, depicts a North African hunting scene featuring warriors, lions and a hunting dog.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024
Noun
The next invaders to occupy Athens were the Romans, who successfully besieged the city in 86 B.C.E. As the Roman Empire declined and the Byzantine Empire rose in the fourth century C.E., Athens lost importance, becoming a small village at the edge of Byzantine territory.
—Demetrios Ioannou, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Aug. 2024
Now, new research at Sutton Hoo has not only uncovered more fragments that belong to the bucket but also offered fresh insight into the history of the vessel that once traveled from a part of the Byzantine Empire called Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey, to the eastern coast of Britain.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024