English Explanatory Dictionary

sylvan

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
  2. Residing in a forest or wood.
  3. Wooded, or covered in forest.
noun
  1. One who resides in the woods.
  2. A fabled deity of the wood; a faun, a satyr.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A place name:
  3. A community in North Middlesex municipality, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
  4. A ghost town in Panther Creek Township, Cass County, Illinois, United States.
  5. A township in Osceola County, Michigan, United States.
  6. A township in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
  7. A township in Cass County, Minnesota, United States, named after Sylvan Lake.
  8. A town and unincorporated community therein, in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States.

Pronunciation

sĭl'vən /ˈsɪl.vən/ en-us-sylvan.ogg

Word forms

sylvan more sylvan most sylvan silvan sylvans

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin sylvanus, possibly via Middle French sylvain, from Latin silvanus, cognate with Latin Silvānus (“Roman god of the woods”), from silva (“forest”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”). The ⟨y⟩ in sylvanus and its descendants is due to influence from Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē, “wood, matter”), transliterated in the Latin style as hyle. Analysable as sylva (“silva”) + -an.

Synonyms

forestlike foresty grovy

Related words

Pennsylvania Pittsylvania savage Silas silva Silvanus Silvia silvicolous silvicultural silviculture Silvius silvology silvopastoral silvopastural silvopasture Spotsylvania sylph sylva Sylvania sylvatic Sylvester Sylvia Sylvie Transylvania arboreal nemorous

Derived words

anthrosylvan sylvanesque sylvanite sylvanshine
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