Meanings
- Greekhuman sciencesA companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.
As a goat he [Dionysus] can hardly be separated from the minor divinities, the Pans, Satyrs, and Silenuses, all of whom are closely associated with him and are represented more or less completely in the form of goats.
1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 341 more example
There are oranges from Florida and Tangiers, dainty maiden blush apples from New England, figs and dates from the Levant, prunes and prunelles from Italy, candied apricots from France, and the superb English hothouse grapes, more luscious than Silenus ever crushed against his palate.
1903, John Corbin, An American at Oxford, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company
Origin
- Ancient GreekΣῑληνός
- LatinSīlēnus
- EnglishSilenus
Borrowed from Latin Sīlēnus, from Ancient Greek Σῑληνός (Sīlēnós). Doublet of Silvanus.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan Silè
- SilèTranslations
French Silène
- SilèneTranslations
Italian Sileno
- SilenoTranslations
Portuguese Sileno
- SilenoTranslations
Spanish Sileno
- SilenoTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Silenus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Silenus
“Silenus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Silenus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Silenus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Silenus.
Source: Silenus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.