ambages

[ am-bey-jeez ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. winding, roundabout paths or ways.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambages¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin ambāgēs (plural) “circuits,” equivalent to amb(i)- ambi- + -āg- (combining form of agere “to move”) + -ēs plural ending; indagate

Example Sentences

After many ambages, perspicuously define what this melancholy is.

From Project Gutenberg

He had not inquired, he had not dared to inquire how the law stood, but he knew that the law's uncertainties were proverbial and its ambages beyond telling.

From Project Gutenberg

Give me your hand, and answer me without ambages, or ambiguities.

From Project Gutenberg

Lay by these ambages; what seeks the Moor?

From Project Gutenberg

May, in his translation of Lucan, uses the word ambages as an English word.

From Project Gutenberg