Definition of SYLVAN

sylvan

Plural: sylvans

Noun

  • An inhabitant of a forest; a person associated with wooded areas.
  • a spirit that lives in or frequents the woods
  • One who resides in the woods.
  • A fabled deity of the wood; a faun, a satyr.

Adjective Satellite

  • relating to or characteristic of wooded regions
    • "a shady sylvan glade"

Adj

  • Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
  • Residing in a forest or wood.
  • Wooded, or covered in forest.

Examples

  • He was a SYLVAN of the word game, always finding hidden plays in dense letter clusters.

Origin / 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.

Scrabble Score: 12

sylvan: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
sylvan: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sylvan: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

sylvan: valid Words With Friends Word