dryad

American  

[drahy-uhd, -ad] / ˈdraɪ əd, -æd /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

• dryads,
  plural
• dryades
  plural

1. a deity or nymph of the woods.

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dryad British  

/ ˈdraɪəd, -æd /

noun

1. Greek myth a nymph or divinity of the woods

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dryadic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dryades
  plural
• dryads
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dryad dryades dryads

Brilliantly rendered by Rebecca Benson, she shins up trees like a dryad, only to be told by her would-be boyfriend, "you smell like an infected bandage".

From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2013

If you stray off the path a jean-clad dryad yells you back on the right course.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 25, 2012

There was a murmuring of surprise—some in pleasure, some in unease—and then each dryad turned to her own tree, snapped off a large branch, and came forward, holding it in her arms.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

“Even if I make the potion,” Petroc said, “I can’t administer it. D’you understand me? It needs to be heated by dryad fire, and there are—you may have noticed—no dryads on this forsaken island.”

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Behind them, he glimpsed a girl-formed dryad step from the apple tree from which he had plucked the apples.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

"We will be nymphs and dryades, and all sorts of woodland things."

From Anne by Constance Fenimore Woolson

And dryades whom the mists have struck With ague—A Sceptre of Despair!

From Betelguese A Trip Through Hell by Jean de Esque

The branches of the trees lash one another like penitential dryades.

From Pictures of Sweden by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

To hazards that the oils Eschewed, haste dryades that were taught To dance.

From Betelguese A Trip Through Hell by Jean de Esque

In the woods the dryades Hear the sounding pipes of Pan, Leave their temples of the trees And return to haunts of man; This the song they sweetly sing— Ave!

From His Lady of the Sonnets by Robert W. Norwood

The Peloponnese area of Greece, called Tsakonia, was once called Kynouria and became known for the hypnotic, serpentine dances of the dryads called Karyatides.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

And her Greek dryads, the Karyatides, still dance today.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

The children meet other creatures based on classical myth - centaurs, minotaurs, satyrs and dryads.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 19, 2015

Centuries later, the dryads have died from the trees and the naiads from the pools.

From Time Magazine Archive

Naiads and dryads tried to help, using nature magic songs to heal burns and poison.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan