sylph
sylph Lexical Profile
sylph Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An imaginary elemental spirit of the air in Renaissance alchemy and folklore, typically depicted as a mortal but soulless winged maiden.
"In Alexander Pope's mock-heroic poem, an invisible sylph attempts to protect the heroine's lock of hair from being cut."
A slender, graceful, and lithe woman or young girl.
"The prima ballerina moved across the stage like a weightless sylph."
Any of several South American hummingbirds of the genus Aglaiocercus (family Trochilidae), native to Andean cloud forests and characterized in males by an extraordinarily long, deeply forked, iridescent tail.
"While birdwatching in the Ecuadorian cloud forest, we spotted a long-tailed sylph hovering beside the bright red blossoms."
• Rhymes for sylph
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the 16th century by the Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus in Modern Latin as 'sylphus', likely blending Latin 'sylva' (forest) and 'nympha' (nymph) or Greek 'silphe' (insect, beetle).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.