satyr

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsætə/ (UK); /ˈseɪtɚ/, /ˈsætɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English satire,^[2][3][4][5] from Old French satire^[2][3][4] and from Latin satyrus,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a word of unknown origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One of the woodland gods or demons, companions of Bacchus (about 1374–85).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In pre-Roman Greek art satyrs had a horse's tail and ears; the image of a part-goat creature came from Roman sculptors, who assimilated them to the fauns.^[4] In Middle English the word also meant a kind of ape (1398), and zoologists later applied it to the orangutan.^[3][4][7] As a type of lustfulness, a lecherous man, it is recorded from 1781.^[4][7] Confusion of satyric and satiric led to the false belief that satire came from the satyr chorus of Greek drama.^[7]

Timeline

• about 1374 – a woodland deity.^[7]
• 1398 – a kind of ape.^[3][7]
• 1781 – a lecherous man.^[4][7]
• 1871 – a butterfly.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. In Greek mythology, a woodland creature, companion of Dionysus, part man and part horse or goat, fond of revelry.
2. A lecherous man.
3. A man affected by satyriasis.
4. Any of various brown butterflies with eyelike spots on the wings.

Word family

• satyric
• satyrlike
• satyr play

Related words

• satyriasis
• faun
• satire

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press