nymph

noun

ˈnim(p)f 

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

Fair nymphs, and well-dressed youths around her shone …

—Alexander Pope

3

: any of various immature insects

especially : a larva of an insect (such as a grasshopper, true bug, or mayfly) with incomplete (see incomplete sense 3) metamorphosis (see metamorphosis sense 2) that differs from the imago (see imago sense 1) especially in size and in its incompletely developed wings and genitalia

nymphal

ˈnim(p)-fəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• dryad
• hamadryad
• naiad
• oread
• wood nymph

Examples of nymph in a Sentence

she bought the book of fairy tales for the beautiful engravings of nymphs and fairies featured between the stories

the neighborhood nymphs were gathered at the local pizza parlor

Recent Examples on the Web

The new nymphs will drop to the ground, bury themselves, and disappear until 2042. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 May 2025

The nymphs first make their way out of the ground, then crawl up a tree or an upright surface, Kritsky said. —Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 11 May 2025

Billions of the insects from Brood XIV are emerging from Tennessee to Georgia to Massachusetts this spring after spending the last 17 years hiding underground as nymphs. —Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025

Instead of looking for adult mayflies, researchers were searching for aquatic immature mayflies, known as nymphs, and used nets to scoop sand from the riverbed, the study said. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nimphe, borrowed from Middle French nymphe, borrowed from Latin nympha "nymph of mythology, young wife or maiden, pupa of an insect," borrowed from Greek nýmphē "bride, young wife, young unmarried woman, nymph of mythology, pupal stage of a bee or wasp," of uncertain origin

Note: Greek nýmphē is conventionally compared to Latin nūbere "(of a woman) to get married (to)" (see nubile), though there is no compelling explanation for -m-. R. Beekes (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009) opts for a pre-Greek substratal origin.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing nymph

• water nymph
• wood nymph

Rhymes for nymph

• lymph
• endolymph
• haemolymph
• hemolymph

Kids Definition

nymph

noun

ˈnim(p)f 

1

: one of many goddesses in old legends represented as beautiful young girls living in mountains, forests, meadows, and waters

2

: any of various immature insects

especially : an immature insect (as a dragonfly or grasshopper) that differs from the adult chiefly in the size of the body and in its incompletely developed wings

Medical Definition

nymph

noun

ˈnim(p)f 

1

: any of various hemimetabolous insects in an immature stage and especially a late larva (as of a true bug) in which rudiments of the wings and genitalia are present

broadly : any insect larva that differs chiefly in size and degree of differentiation from the imago

2

: a mite or tick in the first eight-legged form that immediately follows the last larval molt

3

: a nymphal stage in the life cycle of an insect or acarid

nymphal

ˈnim(p)-fəl 

adjective