nymph

American  

[nimf] / nɪmf /

noun

1. one of a numerous class of lesser deities of mythology, conceived of as beautiful maidens inhabiting the sea, rivers, woods, trees, mountains, meadows, etc., and frequently mentioned as attending a superior deity.

   Synonyms:

   hamadryad , dryad , oread , naiad

2. a beautiful or graceful young woman.

3. a maiden.

4. the young of an insect that undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.

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nymph British  

/ nɪmf, ˈnɪmfɪən /

noun

1. myth a spirit of nature envisaged as a beautiful maiden

2. poetic  a beautiful young woman

3. the immature form of some insects, such as the dragonfly and mayfly, and certain arthropods. Nymphs resemble the adult, apart from having underdeveloped reproductive organs and (in the case of insects) wings, and develop into the adult without a pupal stage

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nymph Scientific  

/ nĭmf /

1. The immature form of those insects that do not pass through a pupal stage. Nymphs usually resemble the adults, but are smaller, lack fully developed wings, and are sexually immature.

2. Compare imago larva pupa

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Related Words

See sylph.

Other Word Forms

• nymphal adjective
• nymphean adjective
• nymphlike adjective
• unnymphal adjective
• unnymphean adjective

Etymology

Origin of nymph

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English nimphe, from Latin nympha, from Greek nýmphē “bride, nymph”

Example Sentences

The masque’s subject is problematic: Some beautiful African water nymphs—portrayed by the queen and her ladies-in-waiting in blackface—wish to travel to Britain to be made white.

From The Wall Street Journal

Intermittently “Ballade” includes a lustrous sisterhood of what seem to be junior nymphs attending their sibling.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many humans are infected when they’re nipped by nymph ticks, a period in their life cycle when they’re roughly the size of a poppy seed and barely visible to the naked eye.

From Los Angeles Times

When I go, I wear a disposable hair net and pretend I’m a grotto nymph, crawling around the corners of my subconscious transporting me back in time.

From Los Angeles Times

In certain groups of centipedes, Machado writes, "this apparently increases offspring survival, because without the mother the eggs and nymphs always die from fungal attack or unknown reasons."

From Salon