byzantine meaning and definition

BYZANTINE noun

Definition of Byzantine (noun)

1. a native or inhabitant of Byzantium or of the Byzantine Empire

BYZANTINE adjective

Definition of Byzantine (adjective)

1. of or relating to the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it
   • "Byzantine monks"; "Byzantine rites"
2. of or relating to or characteristic of the Byzantine Empire or the ancient city of Byzantium
3. highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
   • "the Byzantine tax structure"; "Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship"; "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"
   • synonyms: convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled, tortuous