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, draɪˈædɪk /

noun

1. Greek myth a nymph or divinity of the woods

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Other Word Forms

• dryadic
  adjective

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

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

And then: “He said we need dryad fire,” said Christopher.

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

Meanwhile, across the Archipelago, the news went out, from ratatoska to dryad to centaur.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell