maenad
Americannoun
-
classical myth a woman participant in the orgiastic rites of Dionysus; bacchante
-
a frenzied woman
Other Word Forms
- maenadic adjective
- maenadically adverb
- maenadism noun
Etymology
Origin of maenad
1570–80; < Latin Maenad- (stem of Maenas ) < Greek Mainás a bacchante, special use of mainás madwoman
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The almost twenty-inch-tall piece of terracotta art depicts a maenad, a Greek mythological figure associated with the Greek god Dionysus.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
It all depends on whether the will to forgive is stronger than the forces driving both fury and maenad: feeling and retribution.
From Salon • Jun. 17, 2021
Their only chance for survival is if Diane can undo what modernity has done to them in turning their rightful maenad madness into mere home-improvement mania.
From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2019
Her maenad chorus wears skirts on the bottom, blazers on top.
From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2018
She was in Greek dress, and some yards away from her was the clay study—a maenad with vine wreath, tambourine, thyrsus, and floating hair—for which she was posing.
From The History of David Grieve by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
