Maenad
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A female follower of Dionysus (“the god of wine”), associated with intense revelling. Greek, also, attributive
"VVild yuie) for it is dedicated to Bacchus & therefore it is ſayd that the Mænades (that is Bacchus franticke prieſtes) vſed in theyr ſacrifice to carry Thyrſos, vvhich vvere pointed ſtaues or Iauelins, vvrapped about vvith yuie."
- 2 (Greek mythology) a woman participant in the orgiastic rites of Dionysus wordnet
- 3 An excessively emotional or wild woman. broadly, derogatory, literary
"Blanche Stroeve was in the cruel grip of appetite. Perhaps she hated Strickland still, but she hungered for him, and everything that had made up her life till then became of no account. She ceased to be a woman, complex, kind and petulant, considerate and thoughtless; she was a Maenad. She was desire."
- 4 an unnaturally frenzied or distraught woman wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"VVild yuie) for it is dedicated to Bacchus & therefore it is ſayd that the Mænades (that is Bacchus franticke prieſtes) vſed in theyr ſacrifice to carry Thyrſos, vvhich vvere pointed ſtaues or Iauelins, vvrapped about vvith yuie."
Etymology
From Late Middle English *menadyen (attested in the plural form menadyens) + English -ad (suffix forming names of nymphs). *Menadyen is derived from Latin maenad-, a stem of maenās (“follower of Bacchus, bacchant”), from Ancient Greek μαινάς (mainás, “frantic; raving”), from μαίνομαι (maínomai, “to be mad, out of one’s mind, raving”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to mind; to think; spiritual activity”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.