Silenus

or Si·le·nos, Sei·le·nos

[ sahy-lee-nuh s ]

/ saɪˈli nəs /

noun, plural Si·le·ni [sahy-lee-nahy] /saɪˈli naɪ/ for 2. Classical Mythology.

a forest spirit, sometimes referred to as the oldest of the satyrs and the foster father, teacher, and companion of Dionysus: often represented as a bearded old man.

(lowercase) any of a group of forest spirits similar to satyrs: often represented as a drunken old man with the legs and ears of a horse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for silenus

This Silenus, with a stomach like a hogshead, still believes himself a danger to womankind.
Cyrano de Bergerac|Edmond Rostand
The greater portion of the child, the left arm and hand of Silenus, and the ivy-leaves, are restorations.
Walks in Rome|Augustus J.C. Hare
Pan, Silenus, the Satyrs and the Fauns were either capriform or had some part of their bodies shaped like that of a goat.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1|Various
The thick-set figure of Silenus is about sixteen inches high.
Pompeii, Its Life and Art|August Mau

He had a jovial, rotund face, covered in large part by a bushy beard, and would have done excellently as a model for Silenus.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for silenus

Silenus

/ (saɪˈliːnəs) /

noun Greek myth

chief of the satyrs and foster father to Dionysus: often depicted riding drunkenly on a donkey

plural Sileni (saɪˈliːnəɪ) (often not capital) one of a class of woodland deities, closely similar to the satyrs

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

Word Origin and History for silenus

Silenus

1710, from Greek Seilenos, foster-father of Bacchus and leader of the satyrs; the name is of unknown origin (Klein compares Thracian zilai "wine").