wood nymph

noun

1. (especially in legend) a nymph of the woods; dryad.
2. a brown satyr butterfly, Minois alope, having a broad yellow band and black-and-white eyespots on each front wing.
3. any of several Central and South American hummingbirds, especially of the genus Thalurania.

wood nymph

noun

1. one of a class of nymphs fabled to inhabit the woods, such as a dryad

Word History and Origins

Origin of wood nymph¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

The golden arrow he shot into the heart of Apollo; the leaden, into the heart of a young and graceful wood nymph, Daphne.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps we shall awaken a wood nymph and teach her to become a mortal maid.

From Project Gutenberg

She would never understand this talk of forgetting that one was not a wood nymph.

From Project Gutenberg

Over these they laid the bark, and covered the whole with green boughs, till a bower was formed worthy of a wood nymph.

From Project Gutenberg

In an instant, I sprang across a hedge, and fled towards the little valley, light as a wood-nymph flying from a satyr.

From Project Gutenberg