If you know someone who is happiest camping in the woods, that person is a sylvan. The word “sylvan” can be used as a noun, as in the previous sentence, but it’s most often used as an adjective. For example, “We wanted our wedding to have a sylvan atmosphere, so the ceremony was in a wooded grove.” The word has been in use in English since the mid-16th century, and it comes from the Latin “silva,” meaning “forest.” In ancient Rome there was a god of the woods and trees named Sylvanus, and the original use of “sylvan” in English was to refer to a deity or spirit who lived in the woods.