Byzantine
WordNet
adjective
(1) Characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue; devious
"Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship"
"A fine hand for Byzantine deals and cozy arrangements"
(2) Highly complex or intricate
"The Byzantine tax structure"
"Convoluted legal language"
"Convoluted reasoning"
"The plot was too involved"
"A knotty problem"
"Got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering"
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave"- Sir Walter Scott
"Tortuous legal procedures"
"Tortuous negotiations lasting for months"
(3) Of or relating to or characteristic of the Byzantine Empire or the ancient city of Byzantium
(4) Of or relating to the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it
"Byzantine monks"
"Byzantine rites"
noun
(5) A native or inhabitant of Byzantium or of the Byzantine Empire
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Byzant
Adjective
- Overly complex or intricate.
- Of or pertaining to Byzantium.
- of a devious, usually stealthy manner, of practice.
Noun
- A native of Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul)
- Belonging to the civilization of the Eastern-Roman empire, between 331 A.D. when the capital was moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and up 1453 when it was conquered by the Turks.