thyrsus

[ thur-suhs ]

noun

, plural thyr·si [thur, -sahy].

1. Botany. a thyrse.
2. Greek Antiquity. a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes twined with ivy and vine branches, borne by Dionysus and his votaries.

thyrsus

/ ˈθɜːsəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a staff, usually one tipped with a pine cone, borne by Dionysus (Bacchus) and his followers
2. See thyrse
   a variant spelling of thyrse

Word History and Origins

Origin of thyrsus¹

1585–95; < Latin < Greek thýrsos Bacchic staff, stem of plant

Word History and Origins

Origin of thyrsus¹

C18: from Latin, from Greek thursos stalk

Example Sentences

There are “many thyrsus bearers, few mystics,” many are called, few chosen.

From Project Gutenberg

Bacchus is generally represented as crowned with ivy or grape leaves and bearing an ivy-circled wand (the thyrsus).

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes the thyrsus is replaced by ivy leaves, which, like the fig, are symbolic of the triple creator.

From Project Gutenberg

The figure of the god stands upon a pillar of three stones, and it bears a thyrsus from which depend two ribbons.

From Project Gutenberg

Their heads were helmeted with triple brass, and impenetrable to the heaviest blows of the thyrsus of Bacchus.

From Project Gutenberg