Adjacent Words

Nymph definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NYMPH, n.
1. In mythology, a goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows and waters. According to the ancients, all the world was full of nymphs, some terrestrial, others celestial; and these had names assigned to them according to their place of residence, or the parts of the world over which they were supposed to preside.
2. In poetry, a lady.
NYMPH, n. Another name of the pupa, chrysalis, or aurelia; the second state of an insect, passing to its perfect form.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (classical mythology) a minor nature goddess usually depicted as a beautiful maiden; "the ancient Greeks believed that nymphs inhabited forests and bodies of water"
2: a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly)
3: a voluptuously beautiful young woman [syn: nymph, houri]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English nimphe, from Middle French, from Latin nympha bride, nymph, from Greek nymph? — more at nuptial Date: 14th century 1. any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters 2. girl 3. any of various immature insects; especially a larva of an insect (as a grasshopper, true bug, or mayfly) with incomplete metamorphosis that differs from the imago especially in size and in its incompletely developed wings and genitalia • nymphal adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 any of various mythological semi-divine spirits regarded as maidens and associated with aspects of nature, esp. rivers and woods. 2 poet. a beautiful young woman. 3 a an immature form of some insects. b a young dragonfly or damselfly. Derivatives: nymphal adj. nymphean adj. nymphlike adj. Etymology: ME f. OF nimphe f. L nympha f. Gk numphe

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nymph Nymph, n. [L. nympha nymph, bride, young woman, Gr. ?: cf. F. nymphe. Cf. Nuptial.] 1. (Class. Myth.) A goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows, or waters. Where were ye, nymphs, when the remorseless deep Closed o'er the head of your loved Lycidas ? --Milton. 2. Hence: A lovely young girl; a maiden; a damsel. Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remembered. --Shak. 3. (Zo["o]l.) The pupa of an insect; a chrysalis. 4. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of a subfamily (Najades) of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(nymphs) 1. In Greek and Roman mythology, nymphs were spirits of nature who appeared as young women. N-COUNT 2. A nymph is the larva, or young form, of an insect such as a dragonfly. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. (In poetry.) Damsel, maiden, maid, lass, girl.

Moby Thesaurus

Anlage, Atlantides, Hyades, Napaea, Pleiades, arachnid, arthropod, aurelia, beetle, blastula, bug, caterpillar, centipede, chilopod, chippy, chrysalis, cocoon, daddy longlegs, diplopod, dryad, embryo, fetus, floozy, flower nymph, fly, germ, germen, glen nymph, grisette, grub, hamadryad, harvestman, hexapod, insect, larva, limoniad, maggot, millepede, millipede, mite, mountain nymph, nympha, nymphet, nymphlin, oread, pupa, rudiment, scorpion, spider, tarantula, tick, tree nymph, vila, wiggler, willi, wood nymph, wriggler, zygote