nymph

[nimf]

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.

nymph

/ 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

nymph

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nymph¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nymph¹

C14: via Old French from Latin, from Greek numphē nymph; related to Latin nūbere to marry

Synonym Study

See sylph.

Example Sentences

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

She imagined a climactic moment in which Medusa confronts Athena and asks the goddess why she, the victim, was unjustly punished, and added a noncanonical love affair between Medusa and a female water nymph.

From New York Times

The Pleiades myth describes the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and nymph Pleione.

From Science Daily