paranymph

American  

[par-uh-nimf] / ˈpær əˌnɪmf /

noun

1. a groomsman or a bridesmaid.

2. (in ancient Greece)

   1. a friend who accompanied the bridegroom when he went to bring home the bride.

   2. the bridesmaid who escorted the bride to the bridegroom.

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paranymph British  

/ ˈpærəˌnɪmf /

noun

1. archaic a bridesmaid or best man

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Etymology

Origin of paranymph

1585–95; < Late Latin paranymphus < Greek paránymphos (masculine and feminine) groomsman, bridesmaid, literally, person beside the bride. See para- ¹, nymph

Example Sentences

In the evening, the "fiancee" is conducted to her new home in a flowered chariot between her husband and the paranymph, escorted by torch-bearers and flute-girls.

From Ancient Manners Also Known As Aphrodite by Lou?s, Pierre

The function of the bridegroom’s friend, or paranymph, was to ask the hand of the bride for the bridegroom, and to arrange the marriage.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I by Dods, Marcus

These crowds you complain of are evidence that I have not discharged the function of paranymph in vain.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I by Dods, Marcus