Etymologically
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satyrus

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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

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