maenad
/ˈmiːnæd/
"maenad" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“maenad” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female follower of Dionysus (“the god of wine”), associated with intense revelling.
Corpus desk
Index EN-maenad · maenad · English
maenad · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | maenad |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmiːnæd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “maenad” in English
Rare enough to double-check
maenad is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmiːnæd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for maenad in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English *menadyen (attested in the plural form menadyens) + English -ad (suffix forming names of nymphs). *Menadyen is derived from Latin maenad-, a stem of maenās (“follower of Bacchus, bacchant”), from Ancient Greek μαινάς (mainás, “frant… The correct English form is maenad, spelled M-A-E-N-A-D.
Definition
- 1A female follower of Dionysus (“the god of wine”), associated with intense revelling.
- 2An excessively emotional or wild woman.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how maenad appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
VVild yuie) for it is dedicated to Bacchus & therefore it is ſayd that the Mænades (that is Bacchus franticke prieſtes) vſed in theyr ſacrifice to carry Thyrſos, vvhich vvere pointed ſtaues or Iauelins, vvrapped about vvith yuie.
The ſecrets of the good goddeſs are knovvn, vvhen the pipe the loins / Incites; and alſo vvith the horn, and vvith vvine, the Mænads of Priapus / Are driven, aſtoniſhed, and toſs their hair and hovvl.
Etymology
From Late Middle English *menadyen (attested in the plural form menadyens) + English -ad (suffix forming names of nymphs). *Menadyen is derived from Latin maenad-, a stem of maenās (“follower of Bacchus, bacchant”), from Ancient Greek μαινάς (mainás, “frantic; raving”), from μαίνομαι (maínomai, “to be mad, out of one’s mind, raving”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to mind; to think; spiritual activity”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.