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

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Bring a picnic, and the fam, as the Echo Theater Co. a stripped-down, kid-friendly 40-minute version of Shakespeare’s sylvan fantasy.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2022

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

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2022

Temporary departures from the sylvan landscape for professional activities are prohibited, but the place has been known to have a hold on people.

From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2022

Scientists are also designing proteins with amino acid compositions similar to those in feed made of fish but created from sawdust and other forest residue plentiful in the sylvan state of Maine.

From Scientific American • May 7, 2022

The darkness of natural as well as of sylvan dusk gathered over me.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë