dryad
[drahy-uh d, -ad]
noun, plural dry·ads, dry·a·des [drahy-uh-deez] /ˈdraɪ əˌdiz/. (often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology.
a deity or nymph of the woods.
Compare hamadryad.
Origin of dryad
1545–55; extracted from Greek Dryádes, plural of Dryás, derivative of drŷ(s) tree, oak
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for dryad
Historical Examples of dryad
It was a dressing-room for a nymph of the woods, for a dryad, for Diana herself.
The Innocent AdventuressMary Hastings Bradley
He bit his tongue painfully in covering that slip, but Dryad had not seemed to notice it.
Once to Every ManLarry Evans
Though—but tell me about the Dryad who was engaged to be married.
The Longest JourneyE. M. Forster
All his life he longed to see the dryad whom he had lost for ever.
The Book of Stories for the StorytellerFanny E. Coe
Knock at the rough rind of this ilex-tree, and summon forth the Dryad!
The Marble Faun, Volume I.Nathaniel Hawthorne
dryad
noun plural -ads or -ades (-əˌdiːz)
Word Origin for dryad
C14: from Latin Dryas, from Greek Druas, from drus tree
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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