Rhinemaidens

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Water spirits who guard the gold hidden in the depths of the Rhine river in Wagner's operatic cycle
2. Mythical female figures living in the Rhine river, who protect the treasure in the German opera tetralogy
3. Nymph-like maidens of the Rhine, the watchful guardians of a hoard of gold within Wagner's Ring operas

Etymology: Alberich, a dwarf, tried to win the affections of the Rhinemaidens, three water-spirits who guarded a hoard of gold at the bottom of the Rhine. They mocked him. In revenge he stole the gold and forged it into a ring that would give its owner power over the world, but only if the owner renounced love. Richard Wagner's opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen" is the best-known telling of this story, and it is where most English speakers meet the maidens. The word is a plain compound. "Rhine" comes from Latin "Rhenus," probably of Celtic origin, and "maiden" comes from Old English "mægden," a diminutive of "mægd," meaning girl. The German original, "Rheintöchter," means "Rhine daughters."