sylvan
syl·van/ˈsɪl.vən/adjective, noun
sylvan is spelled S-Y-L-V-A-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (syl·van). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sylvan means “Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sylvan?
| Letters | 6: S-Y-L-V-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: syl·van |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sylvan?
Sylvan appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sylvan?
- US /ˈsɪl.vən/
Sylvan has 2 syllables, split syl·van in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sylvan.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sylvan
- more sylvan comparative
- most sylvan superlative
- silvan
- sylvans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sylvan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
- 2
Residing in a forest or wood.
- 3
Wooded, or covered in forest.
noun
- 1
One who resides in the woods.
- 2
A fabled deity of the wood; a faun, a satyr.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sylvan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sylvain, sylvestre |
| Portuguese | silvestre |
| Spanish | selvático, nemoroso , silvano, silvestre, silvático |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sylvan come from?
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. Analysable as sylva (“silva”) + -an.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).