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thyr·sus

(thûrsəs)

n. pl. thyr·si(-sī)
Mythology

A staff tipped with a pine cone and twined with ivy, carried by Dionysus, Dionysian revelers, and satyrs.

[Latin, from Greek thursos; perhaps akin to Hieroglyphic Luwian tuwarsa-, vineyard, Hebrew tîrôš, new wine, must, and Ugaritic trṯ, new wine, all perhaps ultimately of Near Eastern substrate origin.]

(click for a larger image)

thyrsus

detail of Bacchus and Ariadne by Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807)

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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