English
sylvan
Sylvan comes from Medieval Latin sylvanus, and goes back to Latin silva ‘wood’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilva‘wood’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilvanus
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sylvanusby way of Middle French sylvain
- Englishearliest quotation 1610sylvan
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilva‘wood’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilvanus
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sylvanusby way of Middle French sylvain
- Englishearliest quotation 1610sylvan
Earliest quotation: 1610, Saint Augustine, Beget Gyants of Them. Chap. 23.”: “And ſeeing it is ſo generall a report, and…”
Formed from sylva ‘silva’ + -an
The story
Borrowed from Medieval Latin sylvanus, possibly via Middle French sylvain, from Latin silvanus, cognate with Latin Silvānus (‘Roman god of the woods’), from silva (‘forest’), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (‘beam, board, frame, threshold’). The ⟨y⟩ in sylvanus and its descendants is due to influence from Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē, “wood, matter”), transliterated in the Latin style as hyle.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘jump, spring’
result, sale, salmon, insult, sally, salon, exile, resilient, salle, salient, sill, somersault, salacious, slink, seel, selly, 18 more
through Latin silva ‘wood’
Today it means
adj Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin silva / sylvan