Dryad

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɹaɪəd/

Definitions

1. A supernatural female being in classical mythology inhabiting and personifying a tree, typically depicted as a graceful nymph whose existence is bound to that of a particular forest entity
2. A mythological tree-dwelling nymph whose life force is magically connected to a single tree in classical lore
3. A female spirit from ancient mythology embodying and inhabiting a tree, whose fate is inextricably linked to that particular woody organism

Etymology: In Greek myth, a dryad was not just any tree spirit: each one was bound to a particular tree and lived and died with it. The Greek word "Druás" came from "drûs," meaning "oak," so the name originally tied these nymphs to oak trees specifically before it spread to tree spirits in general. The Greek word passed into Latin as "Dryas," with the genitive "Dryadis," and from there into Old French as "driade," meaning "wood nymph." English took the term from that French form, so it reached the language by a route that runs through Latin and French before arriving here, rather than directly from Greek. The root behind "drûs" is very old. It goes back to a Proto-Indo-European form, "*derew(o)-," meaning "tree" or "wood," which also sits behind the English word "tree" in a broader family of related words.

Synonyms: tree nymph, wood nymph, forest spirit, nature spirit, mythical being