noun

1. Gr. & Rom. Myth. any of a group of minor nature goddesses, represented as young and beautiful and living in rivers, mountains, or trees
2. 1. a lovely young woman
   2. a young woman; maiden: literary or playful usage
3. Entomology the young of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis, differing from the adult primarily in size and structural proportions

Etymology: ME nimphe < OFr < L nympha < Gr nymphē, young wife, spring goddess, hence (poetically) water: see nubile