thyrsus
Americannoun
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Botany. a thyrse.
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Greek Antiquity. a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes twined with ivy and vine branches, borne by Dionysus and his votaries.
noun
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Greek myth a staff, usually one tipped with a pine cone, borne by Dionysus (Bacchus) and his followers
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a variant spelling of thyrse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of thyrsus
1585–95; < Latin < Greek thýrsos Bacchic staff, stem of plant
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.
In last year's district finals, Melody, a straight A student at Pittsburgh's Carrick Junior High, muffed thyrsus, placed second.
From Time Magazine Archive
Stripping off the panther-skin, and throwing down the thyrsus, he flung the brown cloak of the leader of the horsemen over his bare shoulders.
From The Scarlet Banner by Dahn, Felix
A panther-skin was around the upper portion of his body, a purple apron about his loins, a thyrsus staff in his huge but loosely hanging right hand.
From The Scarlet Banner by Dahn, Felix
A mantle of panther's fur swept from her shoulders, her arms and her bust were laden with heavy necklaces and bracelets taken from some Etruscan tomb, and she waved a golden thyrsus.
From Romance of Roman Villas (The Renaissance) by Champney, Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams)
Sometimes the thyrsus is replaced by ivy leaves, which, like the fig, are symbolic of the triple creator.
From Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism With an Essay on Baal Worship, On The Assyrian Sacred "Grove," And Other by Inman, Thomas
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.
