maenad

[ mee-nad ]

/ ˈmi næd /

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noun

bacchante.

a frenzied or raging woman.

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Origin of maenad

1570–80; <Latin Maenad- (stem of Maenas) <Greek Mainás a bacchante, special use of mainás madwoman

OTHER WORDS FROM maenad

mae·nad·ic, adjectivemae·nad·ism, noun

Words nearby maenad

Maebelle, Maecenas, M.A.Ed., Mael, maelstrom, maenad, Maera, M.Aero.E., maestoso, Maestricht, maestro

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use maenad in a sentence

She flings her arms and tresses of Fire to the stars, a maenad in the planetary dance.
The Masque of the Elements|Herman Scheffauer
There stood the Maenad on her revolving stand, and there was the raised platform for the model.
The History of David Grieve|Mrs. Humphry Ward
Yet with very few changes the portrait might stand for the modern society Maenad.
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. III of IV|Charles L. Graves
She felt the gravity of his tone but, like a fierce Maenad, she snatched at the torch, not caring how it revealed her.
Adrienne Toner|Anne Douglas Sedgwick

He followed: but the intense passion of the old hag hurled her onward with the strength and speed of a young Maenad.
Hypatia|Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for maenad

maenad

menad

/ (ˈmiːnæd) /

noun

classical myth a woman participant in the orgiastic rites of Dionysus; bacchante

a frenzied woman

Derived forms of maenad

maenadic, adjectivemaenadically, adverbmaenadism, noun

Word Origin for maenad

C16: from Latin Maenas, from Greek mainas madwoman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012