naiad
(sometimes initial capital letter)Classical Mythology. any of a class of nymphs presiding over rivers and springs.
the juvenile form of the dragonfly, damselfly, or mayfly.
a female swimmer, especially an expert one.
Botany. a plant of the genus Najas, having narrow leaves and solitary flowers.
Entomology. an aquatic nymph.
a freshwater mussel.
Origin of naiad
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use naiad in a sentence
The naiads bathed not in Scamanders stream nor Simois, nor the nereids in the waters of the bright gean Sea.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowThe vapours revolve, the waves spin, the giddy Naiads roll; sea and sky are livid; noises as of cries of despair are in the air.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor HugoTritons with wreathed horns follow his chariot, and naiads as graceful as the waves sport in the opaline waters.
'Round the Year in Myth and Song | Florence HolbrookBesides Gillot, the great designer of fauns and naiads had returned there more flourishing than ever.
Reference is made to fauns and naiads in Milton's "Lycidas."
Stories of Old Greece and Rome | Emilie Kip Baker
British Dictionary definitions for naiad
/ (ˈnaɪæd) /
Greek myth a nymph dwelling in a lake, river, spring, or fountain
the aquatic larva of the dragonfly, mayfly, and related insects
Also called: water nymph any monocotyledonous submerged aquatic plant of the genus Naias (or Najas), having narrow leaves and small flowers: family Naiadaceae (or Najadaceae)
any of certain freshwater mussels of the genus Unio: See mussel (def. 2)
Origin of naiad
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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