thyrsi

Variant of thyrsus

thyrsus definition

thyr·sus (t̸hʉr′səs)

noun pl. thyrsi thyr′si′ (-sī′)

  1. a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes entwined with ivy or vine leaves, which Dionysus, the satyrs, etc. were represented as carrying
  2. Bot. a flower cluster in which the main stem is racemose and the secondary stems are cymose, as in the lilac
    also thyrse (t̸hʉrs)

Etymology: L < Gr thyrsos; ? akin to Hittite tuwarsa-, grape vine

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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