Word of the Day Archive
Thursday December 8, 2005
sylvan \SIL-vuhn\
, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to woods or forest regions.
2. Living or located in a wood or forest.
3. Abounding in forests or trees; wooded.
noun:
1. A fabled deity or spirit of the woods.
2. One that lives in or frequents the woods or forest; a rustic.
They probably picture it as a kind of modest conservatory, set in sylvan splendour in some charmingly landscaped garden.
-- Sally Vincent, "Driven by daemons", Guardian, November 10, 2001
They choose to live where they do because of the beauty and peacefulness that a sylvan setting affords.
-- Henry Petroski, "Step Lively", Washington Post, June 30, 2002
Following the course of the brook, and especially in the ravines, are many poplars and other tall trees, which, together with the bushes and the shrubs, form a dark and labyrinthine wood. . . . It would, in truth, be difficult to imagine anything more secluded and sylvan, more solitary, peaceful, and silent than this spot.
-- Juan Valera, Pepita Jimenez
Sylvan derives from Latin silva, sylva, "a wood or grove."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for sylvan
