sylph
[ silf ]
/ sɪlf /
noun
a slender, graceful woman or girl.
(in folklore) one of a race of supernatural beings supposed to inhabit the air.
Nearby words
Origin of sylph
1650–60; < New Latin sylphēs (plural), coined by Paracelsus; apparently blend of sylva (variant spelling of Latin silva forest) and Greek nýmphē nymph
SYNONYMS FOR sylph
2 Sylph, salamander, undine ( nymph ), gnome were imaginary beings inhabiting the four elements once believed to make up the physical world. All except the gnomes were female. Sylphs dwelt in the air and were light, dainty, and airy beings. Salamanders dwelt in fire: “a salamander that … lives in the midst of flames” (Addison). Undines were water spirits: By marrying a man, an undine could acquire a mortal soul. (They were also called nymphs, though nymphs were ordinarily minor divinities of nature who dwelt in woods, hills, and meadows as well as in waters.) Gnomes were little old men or dwarfs, dwelling in the earth: ugly enough to be king of the gnomes.
Related formssylph·ic, adjectivesylph·like, adjective
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sylph
British Dictionary definitions for sylph
sylph
/ (sɪlf) /
noun
a slender graceful girl or young woman
any of a class of imaginary beings assumed to inhabit the air
Derived Formssylphlike, rare sylphic, sylphish or sylphy, adjective
Word Origin for sylph
C17: from New Latin sylphus, probably coined from Latin silva wood + Greek numphē nymph
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sylph
sylph
1650s, from Modern Latin sylphes (plural), coined 16c. by Paracelsus (1493-1541), originally referring to any race of spirits inhabiting the air, described as being mortal but lacking a soul. Paracelsus' word seems to be an arbitrary coinage, but perhaps it holds a suggestion of Latin sylva and Greek nymph. The meaning "slender, graceful girl" first recorded 1838, on the notion of "light, airy movements." Silphid (1670s) are the younger or smaller variety, from French sylphide (1670s).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper