Etymograph

English

maze

Maze comes from Middle English mase ‘something that causes bewilderment or mystery’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mase1‘something that causes bewilderment or mystery’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1580maze1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English maze
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1580, John Lyly, Euphues and His England: “But first they came to Canterbury, an olde Citie,…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maseWiktionary, English maze‘something that causes bewilderment or mystery’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1580mazeWiktionary, English maze. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1580, John Lyly, Euphues and His England: “But first they came to Canterbury, an olde Citie,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meh₃- ‘to get tired’

molecule, demolition, demolish, molest, 5 more

through Old English āmasian ‘to confuse, confound, perplex’

amazing, 1 more

Today it means

noun A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “maze”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English mase / maze

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