thyrse

noun

1. A type of inflorescence; a compact panicle having an obscured main axis and cymose subaxes.

   The Thyrsus *, or Thyrse, is a mode of inflorescence very nearly allied to the panicle, being, in fact, a panicle contracted into an ovate, or egg-shaped form. In the thyrse, the middle footstalks, which are longer, extend horizontally, whilst the upper and lower oes are shorter, and rise up vertically.

2. A thyrsus (staff with conical ornament).

   archaic

Where it comes from

From Middle French thyrse, from Latin thyrsus, from Ancient Greek θύρσος (thúrsos). Doublet of thyrsus, torse, and torso.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry thyrse (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← thylethyrsus →

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