satyrus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈsa.ty.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsaː.ti.rus]^[1]

Forms

satyrus m (genitive satyrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos, “satyr”).^[2][1] Köbler and Etymonline call the Greek word of unknown origin, perhaps a foreign word.^[3][4] Apuleius has the spelling Saturus.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucretius speaks of goat-footed satyrs, and Cicero lists Panisci and satyrs among the gods.^[2][5] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a demigod of wild places, a companion of Bacchus, later confused with the rustic Faun, as in Horace and Ovid.^[2][5] Virgil's Alphesiboeus imitates dancing satyrs.^[2] Pliny the Elder uses it of a swift kind of ape that runs on four legs or upright.^[2][6] Horace uses the plural for satyr plays, where the chorus were satyrs.^[2]

Medieval writers linked satyrs with lust and, by confusion with satira “satire”, made them gods who mock others.^[7] In New Latin it also served as an adjective, satyr-like.^[1] English satyr is recorded in the late 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius speaks of goat-footed satyrs.^[2][3]
• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of satyr plays.^[2][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of an ape.^[2][3]
• late 14th century – English satyr is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A satyr, a demigod of the wild.^[2][6]
2. A kind of ape.^[2][6]
3. (plural) A satyr play.^[2]

Word family

• satyricus

Related words

• English satyr

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press