thiasus

Forms

thiasus m (genitive thiasī); second declension^[1] Lewis & Short and Georges also record the spelling thyasus, which Georges calls wrong.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θίασος (thíasos, “Bacchic revel; religious guild”).^[4][5][1][6] The further origin of the Greek word is unclear.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Catullus is its first author.^[6] In poem 63 the band howls with quivering tongues, and in poem 64 Iacchus comes with a band of Satyrs and Sileni.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

It named both the orgiastic dance in honour of Bacchus and the band of people taking part in it.^[4][3] Virgil speaks of leading the dances of Bacchus in the Eclogues and, in the Aeneid, of mothers maddened by Bacchus dancing in the pathless woods.^[4][2] Statius and Valerius Flaccus use it too.^[4]

Inscriptions use it for a kind of association, especially one devoted to the cult of Bacchus, and for a thiasus iuventutis.^[4] In British medieval Latin it appears in glossaries and in the poetry of Joseph of Exeter.^[7] Italian tiaso continues it.^[8]

Timeline

• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of a band of revellers.^[4][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of Bacchic dances.^[4][6]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses the word.^[4][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An orgiastic dance, especially in honour of Bacchus.^[4][2]
2. The band of people taking part in such a dance.^[4][3]
3. A religious association, especially one devoted to the cult of Bacchus.^[4]

Related words

• Italian tiaso

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
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
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier