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maenads

 - 4 dictionary results

mae⋅nad

  [mee-nad]
–noun
1. bacchante.
2. a frenzied or raging woman.
Use maenads in a Sentence
Origin:
1570–80; < L Maenad- (s. of Maenas) < Gk Mainás a bacchante, special use of mainás madwoman

Related forms:
mae⋅nad⋅ic, adjective
mae⋅nad⋅ism, noun

bac⋅chan⋅te

  [buh-kan-tee, -kahn-, buh-kant, -kahnt]
–noun
a female bacchant.
Also called maenad, menad, Thyiad.

Origin:
1790–1800; back formation from L bacchantēs, fem. pl. of bacchāns bacchant; pron. with silent -e < F bacchante, fem. of bacchant bacchant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To maenads
mae·nad   (mē'nād')   
n.  

  1. Greek Mythology A woman member of the orgiastic cult of Dionysus.

  2. A frenzied woman.


[Latin Maenas, Maenad-, from Greek mainas, raving, madwoman, Maenad, from mainesthai, to be mad; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

maenad 
1579, from Gk. mainas (gen. mainados) "priestess of Bacchus," lit. "madwoman," from stem of mainesthai "to rage, go mad" (see mania).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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