from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gordian \Gor"di*an\, a.
1. Pertaining to Gordius, king of Phrygia, or to a knot tied
by him; hence, intricate; complicated; inextricable.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) Pertaining to the Gordiacea.
[1913 Webster]