thyrsus

American  

[thur-suhs] / ˈθɜr səs /

noun

plural

thyrsi

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.

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thyrsus British  

/ ˈθɜːsəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a staff, usually one tipped with a pine cone, borne by Dionysus (Bacchus) and his followers

2. a variant spelling of thyrse

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Etymology

Origin of thyrsus

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

Example Sentences

Strands of ivy spiral magically around two stafflike rods, called thyrsi, on the entablature, but the leaves also overlap as they would in nature.

From New York Times

Bacchus is generally represented as a handsome youth, crowned with ivy or grape leaves and clusters, bearing the thyrsus, an ivy-circled wand, as scepter, and riding in a chariot drawn by panthers or leopards.

From Project Gutenberg

She used to be followed with many attendants, who had each a thyrsus with serpents twined round it.

From Project Gutenberg

In one hand he holds a thyrsus composed of grapes and vine leaves, and in the other a cup or vase, from which a serpent springs, to indicate poison.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg