bac·chant

(bə-kănt′, -känt′, băk′ənt)

n. pl. bac·chants or bac·chan·tes (bə-kăn′tēz, -kän′-, -kănts′, -känts′)

1. Greek & Roman Mythology A priest or votary of Bacchus.

2. A boisterous reveler.

[Latin bacchāns, bacchant-, present participle of bacchārī, to celebrate the festival of Bacchus, from Bacchus, Bacchus; see Bacchus.]

bac·chan·tic (-kăn′tĭk) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

bacchantic - of or relating to or resembling a bacchanalian reveler

References in periodicals archive

is the number 1 question to clarify in therapy as their "heritage" is one of rape--be it bacchantic in the manner of the infamous practices of Jean LaFitte, the more sneaky and despicable like Thomas Jefferson and Strom Thurmond, or the typical perpetrated violations of the enslaved (e.g., Warren, 2007).

The Azibo Nosology II: epexegesis and 25th anniversary update: 55 culture-focused mental disorders suffered by African descent people

In comparison with Kzena's Apollo-like nobleness, Dagmar Peckova is a mezzo-soprano of "animal" bacchantic ferocity and vivacity, bringing to bear the compact sonority of her full dark voice.

Czech opera soloists a colourful gallery against the backdrop of the grey rushing motorway of the opera business

Of course, the ultimate destruction of categories occurs offstage, in Penthesilea's bacchantic dismembering of Achilles.

"Make music, women, music!": the Amazonian power of music in Heinrich von Kleist's Penthesilea (1808)

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