dryad

[ drahy-uhd, -ad ]

noun

, (often initial capital letter)

, plural dry·ads, dry·a·des [drahy, -, uh, -deez].

1. a deity or nymph of the woods.

dryad

/ ˈdraɪəd; -æd; draɪˈædɪk /

noun

1. Greek myth a nymph or divinity of the woods

Derived Forms

• dryadic, adjective

Other Words From

• dry·ad·ic [drahy-, ad, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dryad¹

1545–55; extracted from Greek Dryádes, plural of Dryás, derivative of drŷ ( s ) tree, oak

Word History and Origins

Origin of dryad¹

C14: from Latin Dryas, from Greek Druas, from drus tree

Example Sentences

His servants shrank from the sacrilege when he ordered them to fell it; whereupon he seized an ax himself and attacked the mighty trunk around which the dryads used to hold their dances.

From Literature

The knockers— hardy mountain dwellers accustomed to the cold—carried those who would have otherwise frozen: some of the dryads, or the winged sylphs, whose bodies were limp in the wintry air.

From Literature

He writes, “I have called this plant Dryas after the dryads, the nymphs that live in oaks, since the leaf has a certain likeness to the oak leaf.”

From New York Times

“I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don’t understand height very well.”

From Literature

I sat at the top of Half-Blood Hill and watched the dryads come and go, singing to the dying pine tree.

From Literature