dryad
Americannoun
plural
dryads, dryadesnoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dryad
1545–55; extracted from Greek Dryádes, plural of Dryás, derivative of drŷ ( s ) tree, oak
Explanation
A dryad is a fairy-like mythological creature. Dryads are known as tree spirits in Greek mythology. Greek myths link dryads specifically with oak trees, and the Greek root of dryad is drus, or "oak." Some dryads were so connected to their trees that if the tree died, they died too — as a result, Greek gods were stern with mortals who harmed trees. Dryads appear in many works of literature, from Milton's Paradise Lost to the ballet Don Quixote.
Vocabulary lists containing dryad
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 7
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Circe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, told The Associated Press that the vessel involved was the Lakota.
From Seattle Times • May 19, 2022
Dryad Networks, a German company, is designing a system of cheap, low-power sensors that can be hung on trees to pinpoint traces of carbon monoxide and other gases emitted at the start of forest fires.
From Scientific American • May 5, 2022
Under her Dryad Gold series, she has developed yellow-marked snowdrops that are more upright, sturdier and keener to multiply than seedling varieties.
From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2021
British maritime security firm Dryad Global released the audio between Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose and Iranian forces.
From Slate • Jul. 21, 2019
Knowing as little of me and of my feelings for the Dryad as he did, he was right.
From A Maid of the Kentucky Hills by Litsey, Edwin Carlile
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
