nymph


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nymph

 (nĭmf)
n.
1. Greek & Roman Mythology Any of numerous minor deities represented as beautiful maidens inhabiting and sometimes personifying features of nature such as trees, waters, and mountains.
2. A sexually mature and attractive young woman.
3.
a. The immature form of an insect, such as a grasshopper, that does not pass through a pupal stage during metamorphosis. Nymphs resemble adults but are smaller and lack fully developed wings.
b. The eight-legged immature form of certain arachnids, such as ticks and mites.

[Middle English nimphe, from Old French, from Latin nympha, from Greek numphē.]

nymph′al (nĭm′fəl) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nymph

(nɪmf)
n
1. (European Myth & Legend) myth a spirit of nature envisaged as a beautiful maiden
2. chiefly poetic a beautiful young woman
3. (Zoology) 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
[C14: via Old French from Latin, from Greek numphē nymph; related to Latin nūbere to marry]
ˈnymphal, nymphean adj
ˈnymphlike adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

nymph

(nɪmf)

n.
1. any of a class of lesser deities in classical mythology, conceived of as beautiful young women inhabiting the sea, rivers, trees, or mountains.
2. a beautiful or graceful young woman.
3. the young of an insect that undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.
[1350–1400; Middle English nimphe < Latin nympha < Greek nýmphē bride, nymph]
nymph′al, nym′phe•an (-fi ən) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

nymph

(nĭmf)
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. Compare imago, larva, pupa.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.nymph - (classical mythology) a minor nature goddess usually depicted as a beautiful maidennymph - (classical mythology) a minor nature goddess usually depicted as a beautiful maiden; "the ancient Greeks believed that nymphs inhabited forests and bodies of water"
classical mythology - the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks
Graeco-Roman deity, Greco-Roman deity - a deity of classical mythology
Echo - (Greek mythology) a nymph who was spurned by Narcissus and pined away until only her voice remained
Atlantides, Hesperides - (Greek mythology) group of 3 to 7 nymphs who guarded the golden apples that Gaea gave as a wedding gift to Hera
Hyades - (Greek mythology) 7 daughters of Atlas and half-sisters of the Pleiades; they nurtured the infant Dionysus and Zeus placed them among the stars as a reward
Oread - (Greek mythology) one of the mountain nymphs
Pleiades - (Greek mythology) 7 daughters of Atlas and half-sisters of the Hyades; placed among the stars to save them from the pursuit of Orion
Asterope, Sterope - (Greek mythology) one of the 7 Pleiades
water nymph - (Greek mythology) any nymph of the water
Daphne - (Greek mythology) a nymph who was transformed into a laurel tree to escape the amorous Apollo
dryad, wood nymph - a deity or nymph of the woods
Salmacis - nymph who merged with Hermaphroditus to form one body
2.nymph - a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly)
larva - the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose
3.nymph - a voluptuously beautiful young womannymph - a voluptuously beautiful young woman
adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
حورِيَّه
nymfa
nymfe
nimfa
nÿmfa, dís
nimfa
nimfa
nimfă
nymfa
perisu/orman vb. perisi

nymph

[nɪmf] Nninfa f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

nymph

[ˈnɪmf] nnymphe f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

nymph

n
(Myth) → Nymphe f
(Zool) → Nymphe f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

nymph

[nɪmf] nninfa
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

nymph

(nimf) noun
a goddess or spirit of the rivers, trees etc. ninfa
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
To say truth, it was by his assistance that she had been enabled to escape from her husband; for this nobleman had the same gallant disposition with those renowned knights of whom we read in heroic story, and had delivered many an imprisoned nymph from durance.
Lore (two syllables) was a water nymph who used to sit on a high rock called the Ley or Lei (pronounced like our word LIE) in the Rhine, and lure boatmen to destruction in a furious rapid which marred the channel at that spot.
"It was on the evening before his departure, as he wished still once to visit the Lei and offer to the Nymph of the Rhine his Sighs, the tones of his Zither, and his Songs.
After various wanderings the god comes to Telphus, near Haliartus, but is dissuaded by the nymph of the place from settling there and urged to go on to Pytho where, after slaying the she-dragon who nursed Typhaon, he builds his temple.
Fayaway and I reclined in the stern of the canoe, on the very best terms possible with one another; the gentle nymph occasionally placing her pipe to her lip, and exhaling the mild fumes of the tobacco, to which her rosy breath added a fresh perfume.
"Ah, Pelisson," cried La Fontaine, going over to him, "I was fancying," he continued, "that the nymph of Vaux - "
At the head of this harbour there is a large olive tree, and at no great distance a fine overarching cavern sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads.
Last eve in dreams, I saw thee stand, Like queenly nymphs from Fairy-land-- Enchantress of the flowery wand, Most beauteous Isadore!
May I not run down to the shore, and ask some of the sea nymphs to come up out of the waves and play with me?"
Following these there came an artistic dance of the sort they call "speaking dances." It was composed of eight nymphs in two files, with the god Cupid leading one and Interest the other, the former furnished with wings, bow, quiver and arrows, the latter in a rich dress of gold and silk of divers colours.
Let anti-masques not be long; they have been commonly of fools, satyrs, baboons, wild-men, antics, beasts, sprites, witches, Ethiops, pigmies, turquets, nymphs, rustics, Cupids, statuas moving, and the like.
"I have some excellent ivory-black; it will be done in a moment, and we will replace the Medici by the nymphs or the sirens, whichever you prefer."