dryad

American  

[drahy-uhd, -ad] / ˈdraɪ əd, -æd /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

plural

dryads, dryades

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

Example Sentences

“Perhaps very few humans know why. But some creatures do. We sphinxes take in news from everything—the ratatoskas, the stars, the naiads and dryads and nereids. Even the manticores.”

From Literature

The dryad who would have perished with it told him to ask anything he desired and she would give it.

From Literature

The knockers— hardy mountain dwellers accustomed to the cold—carried those who would have otherwise frozen: some of the dryads, or the winged sylphs, whose bodies were limp in the wintry air.

From Literature

He writes, “I have called this plant Dryas after the dryads, the nymphs that live in oaks, since the leaf has a certain likeness to the oak leaf.”

From New York Times

A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts.

From Literature