mazgas

Mazgas is a noun in Lithuanian and other Baltic languages meaning a point where lines meet, such as a junction, a node, or a knot. The term has several closely related senses: a point in a graph or network where edges connect (node); a highway or railway junction where routes converge (transport hub); and a knot in rope or textile work. It can also be used figuratively to denote a central issue or focal point in a discussion or problem.

In technical usage, mazgas denotes a node or vertex in mathematics and computer science, and a transport mazgas denotes a junction or interchange in urban networks. In textiles or ropework, mazgas means a knot formed by interlacing rope or thread.

Origin and forms: the word is of Baltic origin and is cognate with related terms in nearby languages that carry the core sense of a knot or junction. The standard Lithuanian plural is mazgai.

See also: node, junction, knot, graph theory, transport hub.