Sunday Word: Sylvan
sylvan [sil-vuhn]
adjective:
1 of, relating to, or inhabiting the woods
2 consisting of or abounding in woods or trees; wooded; woody
3 made of trees, branches, boughs, etc
noun:
1 a person dwelling in a woodland region.
2 a mythical deity or spirit of the woods
Examples:
Consider the hectares and hectares of fences and hedges, often erected at considerable cost to transform a yard, and certainly a pool, into an owner's sylvan duchy. (Karen Heller, Heaven is renting someone else’s pool, The Washington Post, July 2022)
The scenic drives from any direction include the sylvan splendor of some pristine patches of New England woods, gorges, and rivers. (Richard Morgan, A Perfect Weekend in Norfolk, Connecticut: Unique Farm Stays, Outdoor Pursuits, and Centuries-Old Inns, Condé Nast Traveler, July 2022)
We went down the glen after supper. It is beautiful - a mixture of sylvan loveliness and craggy wildness. (Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad )
Michael turned out of the noisy main road into the sylvan urbanity of Holland Walk. (Compton Mackenzie, Sinister Street)
(a perfect example, click to enlarge)
Origin:
'of the woods,' 1570s, from French sylvain (1530s), from Latin silvanus 'pertaining to wood or forest' (originally only in silvanae 'goddesses of the woods'), from silva 'wood, woodland, forest, orchard, grove,' of unknown origin. The unetymological -y- is a misspelling in Latin from influence of Greek hylē 'forest,' from which the Latin word formerly was supposed to derive. (Online Etymology Dictionary)
In Latin, sylva means 'wood' or 'forest,' and the related Sylvanus is the name of the Roman god of the woods and fields - a god sometimes identified with the Greek god Pan. These words gave rise to English sylvan in the 16th century. The English word was first used as a noun meaning 'a mythological deity of the woods,' eventually taking on the broader meaning 'one who frequents the woods.' The adjective sylvan followed soon after the noun and is now the more common word. Some other offspring of sylva (which can also be spelled silva) include silviculture ('a branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests'), sylvatic (a synonym of sylvan that can also mean 'occurring in or affecting wild animals'), and the first name Sylvia. (Merriam-Webster)