sprite
Americannoun
noun
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(in folklore) a nimble elflike creature, esp one associated with water
-
a small dainty person
-
an icon in a computer game which can be manoeuvred around the screen by means of a joystick, etc
Related Words
See fairy.
Other Word Forms
- spritehood noun
- spriteless adjective
- spritelike adjective
Etymology
Origin of sprite
1400–1450; Middle English sprit, spreit, from Anglo-French spirit(e), Old French esprit, espirit(e), from Latin spīritus spirit
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I amused them by wearing a flower crown and pitching my voice high to play Puck, a mischievous sprite.
From Los Angeles Times
Braid dandelions or daisies into a floral crown, and the wearer becomes a forest sprite.
From Seattle Times
The show’s makers also used crowd sprites, in which actors were filmed individually on green screens and then arranged to appear as part of the crowd.
From New York Times
Pee-wee is a sprite, a creature of myth, like Pan — immune to time or decay or serious illness.
From Los Angeles Times
The setting suits Martin, who exudes a kind of wry wood sprite energy, if wood sprites wore black T-shirts and khakis.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
