dryad
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
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
Returning to the tree he was blinded by the dryad, who was angry at the disregard of her words and the injury to her messenger.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Could I put a face in my tree, like a dryad from Greek mythology?
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
And then: “He said we need dryad fire,” said Christopher.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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 Norwood, Robert W.
To hazards that the oils Eschewed, haste dryades that were taught To dance.
From Betelguese A Trip Through Hell by de Esque, Jean
"We will be nymphs and dryades, and all sorts of woodland things."
From Anne by Woolson, Constance Fenimore
And dryades whom the mists have struck With ague—A Sceptre of Despair!
From Betelguese A Trip Through Hell by de Esque, Jean
The branches of the trees lash one another like penitential dryades.
From Pictures of Sweden by Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian)
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
The result is a bravura hodgepodge of Spanish and gypsy dances, pas de deux, a smattering of light-footed cupids and dryads and, for some obscure reason, a jig resembling a French apache dance.
From Time Magazine Archive
The dryads came from the wood at the edge of the sands.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
