nymphean

Variant of nymph

nymph definition

nymph (nimf)

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
    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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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