undine
[uhn-deen, uhn-deen]
- any of a group of female water spirits described by Paracelsus.
Show More
Origin of undine
< New Latin undīna (1658; coined by Paracelsus), equivalent to Latin und(a) wave, water + -īna -ine1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for undine on Thesaurus.comSee sylph.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for undine
Historical Examples
"She's like Undine after she had found her soul," said the Englishman.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
You remind me just now of pictures I have seen of Undine and the woodland nymphs.
Pretty Madcap DorothyLaura Jean Libbey
Urquhart called her Undine, and she was mostly known as the Mermaid.
Love and LucyMaurice Henry Hewlett
I will sell it, fair Undine, and you shall have the proceeds.
The Memoires of Casanova, CompleteJacques Casanova de Seingalt
Then there is Undine, but she only appears on the operatic stage, and that but rarely.
From a Terrace in PragueLieut.-Col. B. Granville Baker
undine
- any of various female water spirits
Show More
Word Origin
C17: from New Latin undina, from Latin unda a wave
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for undine
n.
1821, from Modern Latin Undina (1650s), coined by Paracelsus ("De Nymphis") for a water spirit in his alchemical system, from Latin unda "a wave" (see water). Popularized by German romance "Undine, eine Erzählung" (1811) by Baron F.H.C. La Motte Fouqué. Undinism (1928) was coined by sex researcher Havelock Ellis to describe the fetish for urine (which Ellis had); nowadays it would be called urophilia.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper