Meanings
comparative more daedal · superlative most daedal · alternative archaic dedal · alternative archaic dædal
- Skilful, ingenious, cunning.
The daedal hand of Nature.
1708, [John Philips], “(please specify the page)”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC2 more examples
His daedale hand would faile, and greatly faint, / And her perfections with his error taint […]
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLCBarquentine went into a form of a trance, the well-heads of his eyes appearing to cloud over and become opaque like miniature sargassos, of dull chalky-blue – the cataract veil – for it seemed that he was trying to remember the daedal days of his adolescence.
1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecomplex and ingenious in design or function
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekδαίδαλος“skillful”
- Latindaedalus
- Englishdaedal
From Latin daedalus, from Ancient Greek δαίδαλος (daídalos, “skillful”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
daedal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daedal
“daedal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daedal. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “daedal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daedal.
Source: daedal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.