sylvan

American  

[sil-vuhn] / ˈsɪl vən /

Or silvan

adjective

1. of, relating to, or inhabiting the woods.

2. consisting of or abounding in woods or trees; wooded; woody.

   a shady, sylvan glade.

3. made of trees, branches, boughs, etc.

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noun

1. a person dwelling in a woodland region.

2. a mythical deity or spirit of the woods.

sylvan British  

/ ˈsɪlvən /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or consisting of woods or forests

2. living or located in woods or forests

3. idyllically rural or rustic

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noun

1. an inhabitant of the woods, esp a spirit

Etymology

Origin of sylvan

1555–65; < Latin sylvānus, spelling variant of silvānus, equivalent to silv ( a ) forest + -ānus -an

Example Sentences

The sylvan glade romanticism of “Emeralds,” the electric energy of “Rubies,” the glittering imperial court of “Diamonds.”

From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2023

Its august and influential members frolic each year in the sylvan Bohemian Grove.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2023

The movie is romantic slapstick, set far from the bohemian Lower East Side in sylvan Vermont.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2022

Consider the hectares and hectares of fences and hedges, often erected at considerable cost to transform a yard, and certainly a pool, into an owner’s sylvan duchy.

From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2022

Ihe sylvan fields, forests, and shores had been mowed down, paved over, and built up with roads, bridges, hospitals, boatyards, jails, and military bases, cities in and of themselves.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly