dryad

American  

[drahy-uhd, -ad] / ˈdraɪ əd, -æd /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

PLURAL

dryads, dryades

1. a deity or nymph of the woods.

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dryad British  

/ ˈdraɪəd, -æd, draɪˈædɪk /

noun

1. Greek myth a nymph or divinity of the woods

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Other Word Forms

• dryadic adjective

Etymology

Origin of dryad

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

Example Sentences

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

The children meet other creatures based on classical myth - centaurs, minotaurs, satyrs and dryads.

From The Guardian

But contrast with that scene in the original 2007 computer game where you have to talk to a dryad in a swamp.

From Time

Toreadors, Gypsies, dryads, kids pretending to be puppets, reams of classical dance and a standard story of two lovers outwitting the girl’s father — all in under three hours.

From New York Times

Brilliantly rendered by Rebecca Benson, she shins up trees like a dryad, only to be told by her would-be boyfriend, "you smell like an infected bandage".

From The Guardian