Definition of Thyrsus

1. Noun. A dense flower cluster (as of the lilac or horse chestnut) in which the main axis is racemose and the branches are cymose.

Exact synonyms: Thyrse
Generic synonyms: Flower Cluster

Definition of Thyrsus

1. n. A staff entwined with ivy, and surmounted by a pine cone, or by a bunch of vine or ivy leaves with grapes or berries. It is an attribute of Bacchus, and of the satyrs and others engaging in Bacchic rites.

Definition of Thyrsus

1. Noun. A staff topped with a conical ornament, carried by Bacchus or his followers. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Thyrsus

1. a type of flower cluster [n -SI] : THYRSOID [adj]

Medical Definition of Thyrsus

1. Origin: L, fr. Gr. Cf. Torso. 1. A staff entwined with ivy, and surmounted by a pine cone, or by a bunch of vine or ivy leaves with grapes or berries. It is an attribute of Bacchus, and of the satyrs and others engaging in Bacchic rites. "A good to grow on graves As twist about a thyrsus." (Mrs. Browning) "In my hand I bear The thyrsus, tipped with fragrant cones of pine." (Longfellow) 2. A species of inflorescence; a dense panicle, as in the lilac and horse-chestnut. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Thyrsus

thyrotropins
thyroxin
thyroxine
thyroxine-binding globulin
thyroxine-binding protein
thyroxine-binding proteins
thyroxine sodium
thyroxines
thyroxins
thyrse
thyrses
thyrseus
thyrsi
thyrsoid
thyrsopteris
thyrsus (current term)
thysanone
thysanopter
thysanoptera
thysanopteran
thysanopterans
thysanopteron
thysanopterous
thysanopterous insect
thysanopters
thysanura
thysanuran
thysanuran insect
thysanurans
thysanuron

Literary usage of Thyrsus

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Structural Botany: Or Organography on the Basis of Morphology. To which is by Asa Gray (1879)
"It is this arrangement which mainly characterizes the thyrsus. ... thyrsus is a MIXED PANICLE. It is seldom that a repeatedly branching inflorescence of the ..."

2. The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints by Alban Butler (1866)
"In the cathedral of our Lady at Sisteron, in a church at Limoges, &c. St. thyrsus is one of the patrons. Many churches in Spain bear his name. ..."

3. The Lives of the Saints by Sabine Baring-Gould (1882)
"thyrsus had his eyelids pierced, and rings put through them, and molten lead was poured down his back. His arms and legs were broken. He died in prison. ..."

4. Synoptical Flora of North America: The Gamopetalae, Being a Second Edition by Asa Gray (1888)
"... paniculate, or interrupted leafy thyrsus. = Involucre naked at base, all the bracts dry an. ... gli uni forming an interrupted strict thyrsus. — PI. ..."

5. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities by William Smith (1891)
"appears most commonly to form the head of the thyrsus. The pinecone-headed thyrsus is held by Dionysos on an Attic terracotta of early • tyli; ..."

6. Orpheus by George Robert Stow Mead (1896)
"THE thyrsus. The candidates also carried in their hands ... This explains the phrase "many thyrsus- bearers there are, but few Bacchi. ..."

7. The Universe: Or, The Infinitely Great and the Infinitely Little by Félix-Archimède Pouchet (1884)
"... with medicinal juices, it secretes aromatics which are highly prized. This is the ca.se 103. thyrsus of Flowers of the Yellow Cinchona—Cinc/nma ..."

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