nymph Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (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. noun a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly)
  3. noun a voluptuously beautiful young woman
    houri.

WordNet

Nymph noun
Etymology
L. nympha nymph, bride, young woman, Gr. : cf. F. nymphe. Cf. Nuptial.
Definitions
  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. (Zoöl.) The pupa of an insect; a chrysalis.
  4. (Zoöl.) Any one of a subfamily (Najades) of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.

Webster 1913