masc. proper name, from Latin silvestris, literally "of a wood, of a forest, woody, rural, pastoral," from silva "wood, forest" (see sylvan). St. Sylvester's Day is Dec. 31.
Entries linking to sylvester
sylvan adj.
"of the woods," 1570s, from French sylvain (1530s), from Latin silvanus "pertaining to wood or forest" (originally only in silvanae "goddesses of the woods"), from silva "wood, woodland, forest, orchard, grove," of unknown origin. The unetymological -y- is a misspelling in Latin from influence of Greek hylē "forest," from which the Latin word formerly was supposed to derive.