Maenads

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmiːnædz/

Definitions

1. A group of female followers of the god Dionysus in ancient mythology, known for their ecstatic worship and frenzied rituals
2. Women in classical mythology who participated in wild, ecstatic celebrations dedicated to Dionysus, often depicted as dancing and intoxicated
3. Female devotees of the Greek god of wine and festivity, characterized by their uninhibited and spirited behavior during rituals and celebrations

Etymology: The Greek word "mainas" meant "raving" or "frantic," and it described the female followers of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstatic ritual, who danced through the mountains in trance-like frenzy. Its root, "mainesthai," meant "to be mad, to rage." The Romans borrowed the idea and the figure together, using a Latinized form, "Maenad," for the frenzied female followers of Bacchus, their name for Dionysus. The plural "maenads" is simply the English plural of "maenad," so the word's history is that of the singular. Through Latin, the Greek term came into English as a learned borrowing, used by writers on classical myth and art to name these worshippers. Its Greek sense of raging madness survives intact, so the word has never drifted far from the wild dancing it first described.

Synonyms: bacchantes, wild women, frenzied women, followers of Dionysus