Definition of "thyrsus" in English

noun

1. A staff topped with a conical ornament, carried by Bacchus or his followers.

   • 1882, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Poet's Calendar In my hand I bear / The thyrsus, tipped with fragrant cones of pine.

2. (botany) A species of inflorescence; a dense panicle, as in the lilac and horse-chestnut.