nymphn.¹

Brit.

/nɪmf/, U.S.

/nɪmf/

Forms: Middle English nemphe, Middle English–1600s nimphe, Middle English–1600s nymphe, 1500s nimpt, 1500s nimpth, 1500s–1600s nimph, 1500s–1600s nympe, 1500s– nymph, 1700s nympht, 1700s–1800s nympth; Scottish pre-1700 nimph, pre-1700 nimphe, pre-1700 1700s nymphe, pre-1700 1700s– nymph.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French nymphe.

Etymology: < Middle French, French nymphe semi-divine spirit (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French; also as nimphe ), a courtesan (dated to end of the 16th cent. in Robert Dict. alphabétique et analogique (1986)), a beautiful young woman (1630), an extravagantly dressed woman of the period of the Directory (1898), an insect larva (1562, translating Pliny: compare nympha n. 1, and quot. 1601 at sense 1), the labia minora (1599) < classical Latin nympha (see nympha n.). Compare Italian ninfa (early 14th cent.; also as plural †nimfe), Spanish ninfa (first half of the 15th cent.; also as †nimpha), Portuguese ninfa (16th cent. as †nimpha).Senses 3a, 4a, and 5 reflect similar uses of the ancient Greek (and Hellenistic Greek) etymon (see nympha n.). For earlier use of Latin nympha in an English context compare the following:eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 324 Nymphas, gydena.eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 331 Nymfæ, wæterælfenne.OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. i. 134 Þa Castalidas nymphas (þæt synt dunylfa), þa þe wunedon on Elicona þære dune.

1. Chiefly Classical Mythology. Any of a class of semi-divine spirits, imagined as taking the form of a maiden inhabiting the sea, rivers, mountains, woods, trees, etc., and often portrayed in poetry as attendants on a particular god.Special names for various types of nymph existed in Greek, and many of these have been employed in English, as dryad, hamadryad, naiad, Nereid, oceanid, oread, etc. More explicitly, the word nymph is often preceded by a word indicating the nymph's particular association: for established compounds of this type see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > nymph

nymphc1385

fairy1542

nymphet1612

nymphlin1773

nymphid1866

c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2928 The goddes ronnen vp and doun Disherited of hir habitacioun In which they woneden in reste and pees: Nymphes [v.r. Nymphus], fawnes, and Amadrides.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 819 I rede Of thilke Nimphe which Laar hihte.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 6238 With the Nimphes ek also Upon the spring of freisshe welles Sche schop to duelle.

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 1544 I swere it yow..on ech goddesse, On every nymphe [v.r. nemphe] and deite infernal.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 2580 With hir nymphes, Iuno cam be-hynde.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 15 Ye shuld shortly haue ben out of the handes of the Nymphes & of the fairees.

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. vi. 6 Nymphis and fawnys..Quhilk..elvys clepyng we.

1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 54 Neptunes Daughter a Nymph, fleeing from Priapus, was turned into this tree.

1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love v. ii. sig. K4 The fourth in White is Apheleia, a Nymph as pure and simple as the Soule, or as an abrase Table.

1637 J. Milton Comus 28 There is a gentle nymph not farre from hence That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream.

1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 355 Under the Trees now trip'd, now solemn stood Nymphs of Diana's train, and Naiades..And Ladies of th' Hesperides.

1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 18 Apr. (1965) I. 351 Her fair Maids..put me in Mind of the pictures of the ancient Nymphs.

1746 W. Thompson Hymn to May xvii. 14 So far in virtue and in goodlihead Above all other nymphs Ianthe bears the meed.

1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xviii. 63 Nor alone Came these, but every ocean-nymph beside.

1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. vi. 200 Where flocks and herds of the Sun were tended by the nymphs.

1894 E. Sullivan Woman 85 If you entered a grove or bathed in a river, you might tumble over a nymph or a satyr, or perhaps an Olympian.

1919 W. S. Maugham Moon & Sixpence xxx. 131 Did he dream of the nymph flying through the woods of Greece with the satyr in hot pursuit?

1968 B. Walker Hindu World II. 143 In Hindu mythology the celestial nymph or apsarā..is a personification of the mists or clouds in the form of a beauteous damsel.

1992 Antique Dealer & Collectors Guide Jan. 19 (caption) Among the Art Nouveau jewellery..was this gold, pique-a-jour, diamond and ruby brooch modelled as a naked nymph.

a. euphemistic and humorous. A prostitute; a woman regarded as a means of sexual gratification. Formerly frequently with of, as †nymph of the pavé, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > sexual indulgence > unchaste behaviour of woman > unchaste or loose woman

queanOE

whorec1175

malkinc1275

wenchelc1300

ribalda1350

strumpeta1350

wench1362

filtha1375

parnelc1390

sinner14..

callet1415

slut?c1425

tickle-tailc1430

harlot?a1475

mignote1489

kittock?a1500

mulea1513

trulla1516

trully?1515

danta1529

miswoman1528

stewed whore1532

Tib1533

unchaghe1534

flag1535

Katy1535

jillet1541

yaud1545

housewife1546

trinkletc1550

whippet1550

Canace1551

filthy1553

Jezebel1558

kittyc1560

loonc1560

laced mutton1563

nymph1563

limmer1566

tomboy1566

Marian1567

mort1567

cockatrice1568

franion1571

blowze1573

rannell1573

rig1575

Kita1577

poplet1577

light-skirts1578

pucelle1578

harlotry1584

light o' lovea1586

driggle-draggle1588

wagtail1592

tub-tail1595

flirt-gill1597

minx1598

hilding1599

short-heels1599

bona-roba1600

flirt1600

Hiren1600

light-heels1602

roba1602

baggage1603

cousin1604

fricatrice1607

rumbelow1611

amorosa1615

jaya1616

open-taila1618

succubus1622

snaphancea1625

flap1631

buttered bun1638

puffkin1639

vizard1652

fallen woman1659

tomrigg1662

cunt1663

quaedama1670

jilt1672

crack1677

grass-girl1691

sporting girl1694

sportswoman1705

mobbed hood1707

brim1736

trollop1742

trub1746

demi-rep1749

gillyflower1757

lady of easy virtue1766

mot1773

chicken1782

gammerstang1788

buer1807

scarlet woman1816

blowen1819

fie-fie1820

shickster?1834

streel1842

charver1846

trolly1854

bad girl1855

amateur1862

anonyma1862

demi-virgin1864

pickup1871

chippy1885

wish-wife1886

tart1887

tartleta1890

flossy1893

fly girl1893

demi-mondaine1894

floozy1899

slattern1899

scrub1900

demi-vierge1908

cake1909

coozie1912

muff1914

tarty1918

yes-girl1920

radge1923

bike1945

puta1948

messer1951

cooze1955

jamette1965

skeezer1986

slutbag1987

chickenhead1988

ho1988

1563 T. Becon Displayeng of Popishe Masse in Wks. III. f. 36^v Antichristes broude of Rome..signifie vnto such nyce Nymphes as knowe your secret suttelties and ioly iuglinges, that ye are beastes of that marke, that wyl neuer fayle Lady Venus nor none of her kynde kytlinges.

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 27 These vermillion Nymphs..would oft runne races, skipping like wanton Lambes.

c1663 G. Etherege Poems (1963) 39 She made me friends with Mrs. Cuffley, Whom we indeed had used too roughly; For by a gentler way I found The Nymph [v.r. Whore] would fuck under ten pound.

1699 E. Ward London Spy I. xii. 12 Nimphs of Delight, who only carry Papers in their hands for a blind.

1731 E. Thomas Let. in Pylades & Corinna 283 I intreat, implore, nay, conjure you, by your own Ovid, by his darling Venus, and by your more tangible Deities, the amiable Nymphs of Drury, reject not my just, my last Petition.

1751 F. Coventry Hist. Pompey the Little i. xi. 96 His Master..sold him a second Time to a Nymph of Billingsgate for a Pennyworth of Oysters.

1828 G. Smeeton Doings in London 91 A young green-horn, fresh from the country, met with a nymph of the pavé in the Haymarket.

1833 W. F. Tolmie Jrnl. 28 Mar. (1963) 133 Nymphs of the pavé numerous (in Honolulu).

c1890 My Secret Life IV. 64 Then a dread came over me. I had fucked a common street nymph.

1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang V. 81 Nymph of darkness (or the pavement),..a prostitute.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §507/2 Prostitute..Nymph du pave.

1964 ‘W. Haggard’ Antagonists vii. 71 Counsellor of Embassy living with fellow-travelling nymph... They'd do most things to muffle that one.

1968 R. Stout Father Hunt (1969) xiii. 157 She was a nymph. She was a goddam tart.

b. Chiefly poetic. A beautiful young woman; a maiden, a damsel.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun]

daughterOE

maidenOE

young womanOE

mayc1175

burdc1225

maidc1275

wenchc1290

file1303

virginc1330

girla1375

damselc1380

young ladya1393

jilla1425

juvenclec1430

young person1438

domicellea1464

quean1488

trull1525

pulleta1533

Tib1533

kittyc1560

dell1567

gillian1573

nymph1584

winklota1586

frotion1587

yuffrouw1589

pigeon1592

tit1599

nannicock1600

muggle1608

gixy1611

infanta1611

dilla1627

tittiea1628

whimsy1631

ladykin1632

stammel1639

moggie1648

zitellaa1660

baggagea1668

miss1668

baby1684

burdie1718

demoiselle1720

queanie?1800

intombi1809

muchacha1811

jilt1816

titter1819

ragazza1827

gouge1828

craft1829

meisie1838

sheila1839

sixteenc1840

chica1843

femme1846

muffin1854

gel1857

quail1859

kitten1870

bud1880

fräulein1883

sub-debutante1887

sweet-and-twenty1887

flapper1888

jelly1889

queen1894

chick1899

pusher1902

bit of fluff1903

chicklet1905

twist and twirl1905

twist1906

head1913

sub-deb1916

tabby1916

mouse1917

tittie1918

chickie1919

wren1920

bim1922

nifty1923

quiff1923

wimp1923

bride1924

job1927

junior miss1927

hag1932

tab1932

sort1933

palone1934

brush1941

knitting1943

teenybopper1966

weeny-bopper1972

Valley Girl1982

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [noun] > beautiful thing or person > beautiful person > beautiful woman

clearc1330

comelya1375

wlonk?a1400

brightc1400

gayc1400

sheenc1400

violet1412

berylc1440

blossomc1440

bonnya1529

pertc1540

bonylasse1546

Venus?1572

spark1575

bellibone1579

bonnibel1579

nymph1584

cheruba1616

lily1622

bellea1640

fine1639

toast1700

houri1745

belle dame1768

peri1813

beauty queen1835

stallion1970

1584 T. Lodge Delect. Hist. Forbonius & Prisceria 32 O Nimph of beauties train, The onely cause and easer of my paine.

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 126 Thes. But soft. What nymphes are these? Egeus. My Lord, this my daughter heere a sleepe.

a1657 W. Mure Wks. (1898) I. 34 Then happie nimph, quhoise spreit in peace repoises.

1682 J. Dryden Prol. to Dutchess sig. A1 But now th' Illustrious Nymph return'd again, Brings every Grace triumphant in her Train.

1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i. 6 I hastily took leave, and left the Nymph.

1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 205 A plan of joy, in hot operation between Emily and her partner, who..had led his nymph to one of the benches on the green bank, where he was very cordially proceeding to teach her the difference betwixt jest and earnest.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. 198 They expect to find a faithful nymph or swain in whatever their fancy sets upon.

1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus i. ii. 7 Fair nymphs, who deign To share the soft hours of Sardanapalus.

1855 A. Trollope Warden vi. 93 How..the muslin fluttered and crumpled before Eleanor and another nymph were duly seated at the piano.

1895 G. Ranken Windabyne 260 Toby, getting up the horses one morning, got a glimpse of a little dusky nymph dipping her ‘coolamin’ in a..tarn.

1926 E. Wharton Let. 11 Apr. (1988) 490 At dinner he was still brooding over these brawny nymphs in grass-green ‘Mother Hubbards’ & Cubist sweaters.

1944 C. Dilke in Wine & Food No. 41. 16 He might have been back at the Eureka tennis club..watching the nymphs who played patball on summer evenings.

1990 Interview Mar. 18/3 These days you might see a lot of the goddesses imitating the nymphs with the ripped jeans and Gap pocket T-shirts.

†c. French History. An extravagantly dressed Frenchwoman of the period of the Directory. Cf. merveilleuse n. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun] > member of > female

fine lady1577

girl about ( the) towna1701

élégante1797

lionne1846

flâneuse1879

mondaine1888

mundane1897

nymph1898

Sloane Ranger1975

bright young thing2016

1898 M. Loyd tr. O. Uzanne Fashion in Paris i. 14 The Nymph and the Merveilleuse—those types of a period of deep corruption and open libertinage.

a. Zoology. An insect larva; (now) spec. the larva of a hemimetabolous insect, frequently resembling the adult in form though sexually immature; (formerly) (also) †a pupa (obsolete). Also: a mite or tick at a stage in the life cycle between larva and adult, having eight legs like the adult.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > pupa or chrysalis

nymph1577

nympha1601

aurelia1608

chrysalis1658

puppet1671

pricket1707

pupa1770

chrysalid1777

pupe1819

naiad1918

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 185^v The other common sort, when they begin to haue fashion, are called Nimphes [L. nymphae].

1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) ii. sig. E1 The young weake Nymphs falling in those shadie places..are in danger to be chilled.

1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 898 At length they grow to be Nymphs, i.e. little Bees, but without wings.

1716 J. Gay Let. 26 Mar. (1966) 30 The nymph whose tail is all on Flame Is aptly term'd, a Glow worm.

1747 W. Gould Acct. Eng. Ants 44 They are called Nymphs in allusion to Brides, because when they leave this State, they are often arrayed in Gayety and Splendour.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) This is properly the nymph state.

1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 415 The nymphs of the large species leave the water altogether.

1895 D. Sharp in Cambr. Nat. Hist. V. i. 420 The mouth of the nymph bears a remarkable structure called the mask.

1936 Forestry 10 134 The first-stage nymphs..were overlooked in 1935 and first discerned at the end of March 1936 on the twigs of the previous year.

1965 J. D. Carthy Behaviour of Arthropods vi. 79 Among the termites, nymphs as well as adults can carry out these duties, but in hymenopteran societies it can only be adults which do so.

2001 tr. L.-H. Olsen et al. Small Woodland Creatures 91 It [sc. the sheep tick] takes one blood meal for each stage of development: 1st year as larva (with 6 legs), 2nd year as nymph, and 3rd year as adult.

b. A fishing fly made in imitation of the aquatic larva of a mayfly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies

stone-flya1450

ant-fly1653

hawthorn-fly1653

mayfly1653

oak fly1653

wall-fly1653

pismire-fly1670

cow-lady1676

mayfly1676

owl fly1676

brown1681

cow-turd-fly1684

trout-fly1746

orl fly1747

hazel fly?1758

iron-blue fly?1758

red spinner?1758

Welshman's button?1758

buzz1760

Yellow Sally1766

ash-fly1787

black caterpillar1787

cow-dung fly1787

sharn-fly1787

spinner1787

woodcock-fly1787

huzzard1799

knop-fly1799

mackerel1799

watchet1799

iron blue1826

knob fly1829

mackerel fly1829

March brown1837

cinnamon fly1867

quill gnat1867

sedge-fly1867

cob-fly1870

woodcock wing1888

sedge1889

olive1895

quill1899

nymph1910

green weenie1977

Montana1987

1910 G. E. M. Skues Minor Tactics of Chalk Stream iv. 32 I had tied some nymphs of appropriate colour of body.

1922 R. C. Bridgett Dry-fly Fishing i. 17 The place of honour [as a lure] is occupied by the artificial nymph.

1987 Trout Fisherman Mar. 44/3 Wind-knots can get into the leader..by using too fine a tippet when fishing either a lure or a large, leaded nymph.

2018 G. Daniel Nymph Fishing iv. 97/1 Remember, the heavily weighted nymph will drop fast towards stream bottom.

†4. Extended uses.

a. literary and poetic. A stream, a river. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > [noun] > river

floodc825

streamc875

eaeOE

water streamOE

flumec1175

fleamc1300

riverc1300

currentc1380

reea1500

ford1563

fluent1598

draught1601

nymph1605

amnic1623

flux1637

nullah1656

R1692

currency1758

silent highway1841

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 213 Kennet,..Her Siluer Nymphes (almost) directly leading, To meet her Mistresse (the great Thames) at Reading.

a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 156 Having to these Seas of Joy..added this small Brook or Nymph of mine.

1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback 291 If the wandering nymph, Vaga, instead of flowing zigzag from Hereford to Ross, would but have meandered down this valley.

b. A ship. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun]

shipc725

beamOE

boardOE

bargea1300

steera1300

vessela1300

treea1382

loomc1400

man1473

ark1477

bottom1490

keela1547

riverboat1565

craft1578

pine1592

class1596

flood-bickerer1599

pitchboard1599

stern-bearer1599

wooden horse1599

wooden isle1603

water treader?1615

water house1616

watercraft1618

machine1637

prore1642

lightman1666

embarkation1690

bark1756

prowa1771

Mudian1813

bastiment1823

hooker1823

nymph1876

M.F.V.1948

1876 R. F. Burton Two Trips Gorilla Land II. 15 I transferred myself on board H.M. Steamship ‘Zebra’, one of the nymphs of the British navy.

†5. In plural. Anatomy = nympha n. 2. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva > labia

lip1598

nymphs1615

labium1634

nympha1646

tablier1789

Hottentot apron1833

1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 239 The two smaller clefts..between the Nymphes, the two Nymphes themselues.

6. Conchology. = nympha n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell > part of

auricle1665

heel1673

lip1681

mouth1681

whirl1681

rib1711

antihelix1721

canal1734

columella1755

vesture1755

body whirl1776

fent1776

pillar1776

pillar-lip1776

septum1786

aperture1794

body whorl1807

costa1812

seam1816

spine1822

umbo1822

varix1822

peristome1828

summit1828

nucleus1833

concameration1835

lunula1835

nympha1836

nymph1839

lunule1842

peritreme1848

body chamber1851

axis1866

umbone1867

liration1904

1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 319/1 Shell often gaping a little at the lateral extremities... Nymphs..gaping outwards.

1969 L. R. Cox in R. C. Moore Treat. Invertebr. Paleontol. N. I. 46/2 The nymphae or nymphs are narrow lunate platforms (one in each valve) which in many bivalves extend from the beaks along part of the posterodorsal margin.

1987 J. Pojeta in R. S. Boardman et al. Fossil Invertebr. xiv. 417/1 Elongate external ligaments may attach to narrow internal platforms called nymphs.

2000 J. C. W. Cope in E. M. Harper et al. Evolutionary Biol. Bivalvia (Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. No. 177) 88/1 It may be that the nymphs were perforce developed in the ctenodontids as the rearward migration of the umbones shortened the effective length of the ligament, thus making stronger insertion essential.

Compounds

C1.

nymph-land n.

ΚΠ

a1872 J. Purchas in F. G. Lee Lyrics of Life & Light (1875) 15 Where the glamour of the Nymph-land—lo! the cold decorous wife!

1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Eclogues ix, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 60 Who was to chant us stories of Nymph-land, blossom and flower.

1998 Canberra Times 31 Oct. a5 One of our favourite walks beside the Swan River we called Nymph-land, because it seemed to us mysterious and wonderful, with a magical invisible presence.

nymph-mother n.

ΚΠ

1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings I. xxxviii. 257 The lovely nymph-mother of Ganymede.

1991 S. M. Haslam Hist. River xiv. 283 In Virgil's Georgics, the Shepherd Aristasus lost his bees..and called to his nymph mother by the sacred fountain of the rising river.

2013 S. D. Hales This is Philos. iii. 71 No more credence..than finding the bones of Achilles is evidence that his nymph-mother dunked him in the River Styx to secure a magical protection.

nymph-pink n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > pale red or pink

incarnationa1475

carnation?1533

peach colour1573

maiden's blush1598

maiden blush1600

flesh-colour1611

gridelinc1640

incarnadine1661

pinka1669

peach bloom1716

pompadour1761

rose pink1772

salmon-colour1813

orange-pink1820

peachiness1820

maiden rose1827

pinkiness1828

peach-blow1829

peach1831

pink madder1835

flesh-tint1839

pinkness1840

rose du Barry1847

flesh1852

almond1872

ash of roses1872

nymph-pink1872

rose Pompadour1872

salmon1873

pinkishness1874

mushroom1884

salmon-pink1884

naturelle1887

shell-pink1887

sunrise1890

sultan pink1899

mushroom colour1900

sunblush1925

flesh tone1931

magnolia1963

1872 Globe 27 Sept. 2/3 For evening wear, the nymph pink, myosotis, maize, and pale mauve are the favourite colours; they..are becoming to the complexion.

1955 ISCC-NBS Method designating Colors (U.S. National Bureau of Standards Circular 553) 79/1 (table) Moderate Purplish Pink..Light Mauve..Nymph Pink..Quality Pink.

2004 Garden Aug. 595/1 The deep purply-pink of ‘Parade’, the nymph-pink of ‘Kew Rambler’.

nymph-queen n.

ΚΠ

1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xxviii. 75 While thus of both bereft, the nymph-queen [Calypso] doubly sigh'd.

1878 T. C. Irwin Skeletal Chaperon in Songs & Romances 222 An opera girl... Such a nymph queen of the boards.

1993 Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) (Nexis) 12 Mar. 17 He flashes through some spectacular bravura twirls and leaps, partnering nymph-queen Marielena Mencia.

nymph-song n. rare

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1930 E. Blunden Summer's Fancy 15 When nymph-songs echoed on the blossomed breeze.

nymph-haunted adj.

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1827 W. Wordsworth Ode iv, in Poet. Wks. III. 207 The Vault rang with choral harmony, Like some Nymph-haunted Grot beneath the roaring sea.

1881 O. Wilde Poems 69 Blue nymph-haunted seas.

1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 Aug. k4 The author ranges from the Garden of Eden..to the nymph-haunted gardens of classical Greece and Rome.

2013 G. Callaghan H. P. Lovecraft's Dark Arcadia i. 13 Lovecraft slowly reversed and inverted those Greek and Arcadian myths that he had loved as a youth, transforming nymph-haunted Arcadia into witch-haunted Arkham.

† nymph-prompted adj. Obsolete

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1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 88 Nymph-prompted Nvma, or the Spartans Lord.

† nymph-strong adj. Obsolete

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1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 413 The rowling ridges Of Nymph-strong floods.

C2.

nymph fishing n. fishing using a nymph as a fly (see sense 3b).

ΚΠ

1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 May 374/2 The delicate art of nymph-fishing.

1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 1 July 15/2 The Club rules permit only dry fly and nymph fishing until the end of July.

1990 Fly Fisherman Dec. 70/1 Dyed lines are especially advantageous for nymph fishing, because you tend to cast a bit farther upstream of the fish.

2018 G. Daniel (title) Nymph fishing: new angles, tactics, and techniques.

Derivatives

ˈnymphless adj.

ΚΠ

1848 Athenæum 14 Oct. 1029/1 The wild rose hangs unwreathed; the nymphless stream Sings only to the weeds.

1906 Daily News 1 June 6/4 But Pan is dead And moulder'd is his pipe of reeds, And lorn are Tempè's nymphless meads.

1930 T. S. Moore in Eng. Rev. Feb. 247 Dead land, still hugged by thy warm sea Nymphless, unfauned, uncentauréd!

1948 C. Day Lewis Poems 1943–7 19 Otherwise the forest was silent: birdless; nymphless.

1951 E. J. Dent in Music Rev. 12 9 He [sc. Aminta] would have caused some complications in the plot and would have been left nymphless at the final pairing-off of the other characters.

† nymphship n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1662 Life & Death Mrs. Mary Frith To Rdr. 3 He that..thinks not her Nymphship as venerable as any of that mysterious sisterhood, is not fit to carry Guts to a Beare.

1822 Eclectic Rev. Oct. 377 Mr. Clarke has been seduced by the charms of the Derwent, to enter the lists as her nymphship's champion.

1871 K. H. Digby Ouranogaia iv. 53 Some side observers can perceive How soon she will her nymphship leave.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	nymph
释义	nymphn.¹ Brit. /nɪmf/, U.S. /nɪmf/ Forms: Middle English nemphe, Middle English–1600s nimphe, Middle English–1600s nymphe, 1500s nimpt, 1500s nimpth, 1500s–1600s nimph, 1500s–1600s nympe, 1500s– nymph, 1700s nympht, 1700s–1800s nympth; Scottish pre-1700 nimph, pre-1700 nimphe, pre-1700 1700s nymphe, pre-1700 1700s– nymph. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French nymphe. Etymology: < Middle French, French nymphe semi-divine spirit (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French; also as nimphe ), a courtesan (dated to end of the 16th cent. in Robert Dict. alphabétique et analogique (1986)), a beautiful young woman (1630), an extravagantly dressed woman of the period of the Directory (1898), an insect larva (1562, translating Pliny: compare nympha n. 1, and quot. 1601 at sense 1), the labia minora (1599) < classical Latin nympha (see nympha n.). Compare Italian ninfa (early 14th cent.; also as plural †nimfe), Spanish ninfa (first half of the 15th cent.; also as †nimpha), Portuguese ninfa (16th cent. as †nimpha).Senses 3a, 4a, and 5 reflect similar uses of the ancient Greek (and Hellenistic Greek) etymon (see nympha n.). For earlier use of Latin nympha in an English context compare the following:eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 324 Nymphas, gydena.eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 331 Nymfæ, wæterælfenne.OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. i. 134 Þa Castalidas nymphas (þæt synt dunylfa), þa þe wunedon on Elicona þære dune. 1. Chiefly Classical Mythology. Any of a class of semi-divine spirits, imagined as taking the form of a maiden inhabiting the sea, rivers, mountains, woods, trees, etc., and often portrayed in poetry as attendants on a particular god.Special names for various types of nymph existed in Greek, and many of these have been employed in English, as dryad, hamadryad, naiad, Nereid, oceanid, oread, etc. More explicitly, the word nymph is often preceded by a word indicating the nymph's particular association: for established compounds of this type see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > nymph nymphc1385 fairy1542 nymphet1612 nymphlin1773 nymphid1866 c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2928 The goddes ronnen vp and doun Disherited of hir habitacioun In which they woneden in reste and pees: Nymphes [v.r. Nymphus], fawnes, and Amadrides. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 819 I rede Of thilke Nimphe which Laar hihte. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 6238 With the Nimphes ek also Upon the spring of freisshe welles Sche schop to duelle. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 1544 I swere it yow..on ech goddesse, On every nymphe [v.r. nemphe] and deite infernal. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 2580 With hir nymphes, Iuno cam be-hynde. c1500 Melusine (1895) 15 Ye shuld shortly haue ben out of the handes of the Nymphes & of the fairees. a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. vi. 6 Nymphis and fawnys..Quhilk..elvys clepyng we. 1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 54 Neptunes Daughter a Nymph, fleeing from Priapus, was turned into this tree. 1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love v. ii. sig. K4 The fourth in White is Apheleia, a Nymph as pure and simple as the Soule, or as an abrase Table. View more context for this quotation 1637 J. Milton Comus 28 There is a gentle nymph not farre from hence That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream. 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 355 Under the Trees now trip'd, now solemn stood Nymphs of Diana's train, and Naiades..And Ladies of th' Hesperides. View more context for this quotation 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 18 Apr. (1965) I. 351 Her fair Maids..put me in Mind of the pictures of the ancient Nymphs. 1746 W. Thompson Hymn to May xvii. 14 So far in virtue and in goodlihead Above all other nymphs Ianthe bears the meed. 1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xviii. 63 Nor alone Came these, but every ocean-nymph beside. 1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. vi. 200 Where flocks and herds of the Sun were tended by the nymphs. 1894 E. Sullivan Woman 85 If you entered a grove or bathed in a river, you might tumble over a nymph or a satyr, or perhaps an Olympian. 1919 W. S. Maugham Moon & Sixpence xxx. 131 Did he dream of the nymph flying through the woods of Greece with the satyr in hot pursuit? 1968 B. Walker Hindu World II. 143 In Hindu mythology the celestial nymph or apsarā..is a personification of the mists or clouds in the form of a beauteous damsel. 1992 Antique Dealer & Collectors Guide Jan. 19 (caption) Among the Art Nouveau jewellery..was this gold, pique-a-jour, diamond and ruby brooch modelled as a naked nymph. 2. a. euphemistic and humorous. A prostitute; a woman regarded as a means of sexual gratification. Formerly frequently with of, as †nymph of the pavé, etc. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > sexual indulgence > unchaste behaviour of woman > unchaste or loose woman queanOE whorec1175 malkinc1275 wenchelc1300 ribalda1350 strumpeta1350 wench1362 filtha1375 parnelc1390 sinner14.. callet1415 slut?c1425 tickle-tailc1430 harlot?a1475 mignote1489 kittock?a1500 mulea1513 trulla1516 trully?1515 danta1529 miswoman1528 stewed whore1532 Tib1533 unchaghe1534 flag1535 Katy1535 jillet1541 yaud1545 housewife1546 trinkletc1550 whippet1550 Canace1551 filthy1553 Jezebel1558 kittyc1560 loonc1560 laced mutton1563 nymph1563 limmer1566 tomboy1566 Marian1567 mort1567 cockatrice1568 franion1571 blowze1573 rannell1573 rig1575 Kita1577 poplet1577 light-skirts1578 pucelle1578 harlotry1584 light o' lovea1586 driggle-draggle1588 wagtail1592 tub-tail1595 flirt-gill1597 minx1598 hilding1599 short-heels1599 bona-roba1600 flirt1600 Hiren1600 light-heels1602 roba1602 baggage1603 cousin1604 fricatrice1607 rumbelow1611 amorosa1615 jaya1616 open-taila1618 succubus1622 snaphancea1625 flap1631 buttered bun1638 puffkin1639 vizard1652 fallen woman1659 tomrigg1662 cunt1663 quaedama1670 jilt1672 crack1677 grass-girl1691 sporting girl1694 sportswoman1705 mobbed hood1707 brim1736 trollop1742 trub1746 demi-rep1749 gillyflower1757 lady of easy virtue1766 mot1773 chicken1782 gammerstang1788 buer1807 scarlet woman1816 blowen1819 fie-fie1820 shickster?1834 streel1842 charver1846 trolly1854 bad girl1855 amateur1862 anonyma1862 demi-virgin1864 pickup1871 chippy1885 wish-wife1886 tart1887 tartleta1890 flossy1893 fly girl1893 demi-mondaine1894 floozy1899 slattern1899 scrub1900 demi-vierge1908 cake1909 coozie1912 muff1914 tarty1918 yes-girl1920 radge1923 bike1945 puta1948 messer1951 cooze1955 jamette1965 skeezer1986 slutbag1987 chickenhead1988 ho1988 1563 T. Becon Displayeng of Popishe Masse in Wks. III. f. 36^v Antichristes broude of Rome..signifie vnto such nyce Nymphes as knowe your secret suttelties and ioly iuglinges, that ye are beastes of that marke, that wyl neuer fayle Lady Venus nor none of her kynde kytlinges. 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 27 These vermillion Nymphs..would oft runne races, skipping like wanton Lambes. c1663 G. Etherege Poems (1963) 39 She made me friends with Mrs. Cuffley, Whom we indeed had used too roughly; For by a gentler way I found The Nymph [v.r. Whore] would fuck under ten pound. 1699 E. Ward London Spy I. xii. 12 Nimphs of Delight, who only carry Papers in their hands for a blind. 1731 E. Thomas Let. in Pylades & Corinna 283 I intreat, implore, nay, conjure you, by your own Ovid, by his darling Venus, and by your more tangible Deities, the amiable Nymphs of Drury, reject not my just, my last Petition. 1751 F. Coventry Hist. Pompey the Little i. xi. 96 His Master..sold him a second Time to a Nymph of Billingsgate for a Pennyworth of Oysters. 1828 G. Smeeton Doings in London 91 A young green-horn, fresh from the country, met with a nymph of the pavé in the Haymarket. 1833 W. F. Tolmie Jrnl. 28 Mar. (1963) 133 Nymphs of the pavé numerous (in Honolulu). c1890 My Secret Life IV. 64 Then a dread came over me. I had fucked a common street nymph. 1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang V. 81 Nymph of darkness (or the pavement),..a prostitute. 1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §507/2 Prostitute..Nymph du pave. 1964 ‘W. Haggard’ Antagonists vii. 71 Counsellor of Embassy living with fellow-travelling nymph... They'd do most things to muffle that one. 1968 R. Stout Father Hunt (1969) xiii. 157 She was a nymph. She was a goddam tart. b. Chiefly poetic. A beautiful young woman; a maiden, a damsel. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun] daughterOE maidenOE young womanOE mayc1175 burdc1225 maidc1275 wenchc1290 file1303 virginc1330 girla1375 damselc1380 young ladya1393 jilla1425 juvenclec1430 young person1438 domicellea1464 quean1488 trull1525 pulleta1533 Tib1533 kittyc1560 dell1567 gillian1573 nymph1584 winklota1586 frotion1587 yuffrouw1589 pigeon1592 tit1599 nannicock1600 muggle1608 gixy1611 infanta1611 dilla1627 tittiea1628 whimsy1631 ladykin1632 stammel1639 moggie1648 zitellaa1660 baggagea1668 miss1668 baby1684 burdie1718 demoiselle1720 queanie?1800 intombi1809 muchacha1811 jilt1816 titter1819 ragazza1827 gouge1828 craft1829 meisie1838 sheila1839 sixteenc1840 chica1843 femme1846 muffin1854 gel1857 quail1859 kitten1870 bud1880 fräulein1883 sub-debutante1887 sweet-and-twenty1887 flapper1888 jelly1889 queen1894 chick1899 pusher1902 bit of fluff1903 chicklet1905 twist and twirl1905 twist1906 head1913 sub-deb1916 tabby1916 mouse1917 tittie1918 chickie1919 wren1920 bim1922 nifty1923 quiff1923 wimp1923 bride1924 job1927 junior miss1927 hag1932 tab1932 sort1933 palone1934 brush1941 knitting1943 teenybopper1966 weeny-bopper1972 Valley Girl1982 the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [noun] > beautiful thing or person > beautiful person > beautiful woman clearc1330 comelya1375 wlonk?a1400 brightc1400 gayc1400 sheenc1400 violet1412 berylc1440 blossomc1440 bonnya1529 pertc1540 bonylasse1546 Venus?1572 spark1575 bellibone1579 bonnibel1579 nymph1584 cheruba1616 lily1622 bellea1640 fine1639 toast1700 houri1745 belle dame1768 peri1813 beauty queen1835 stallion1970 1584 T. Lodge Delect. Hist. Forbonius & Prisceria 32 O Nimph of beauties train, The onely cause and easer of my paine. 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 126 Thes. But soft. What nymphes are these? Egeus. My Lord, this my daughter heere a sleepe. View more context for this quotation a1657 W. Mure Wks. (1898) I. 34 Then happie nimph, quhoise spreit in peace repoises. 1682 J. Dryden Prol. to Dutchess sig. A1 But now th' Illustrious Nymph return'd again, Brings every Grace triumphant in her Train. 1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i. 6 I hastily took leave, and left the Nymph. 1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 205 A plan of joy, in hot operation between Emily and her partner, who..had led his nymph to one of the benches on the green bank, where he was very cordially proceeding to teach her the difference betwixt jest and earnest. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. 198 They expect to find a faithful nymph or swain in whatever their fancy sets upon. 1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus i. ii. 7 Fair nymphs, who deign To share the soft hours of Sardanapalus. 1855 A. Trollope Warden vi. 93 How..the muslin fluttered and crumpled before Eleanor and another nymph were duly seated at the piano. 1895 G. Ranken Windabyne 260 Toby, getting up the horses one morning, got a glimpse of a little dusky nymph dipping her ‘coolamin’ in a..tarn. 1926 E. Wharton Let. 11 Apr. (1988) 490 At dinner he was still brooding over these brawny nymphs in grass-green ‘Mother Hubbards’ & Cubist sweaters. 1944 C. Dilke in Wine & Food No. 41. 16 He might have been back at the Eureka tennis club..watching the nymphs who played patball on summer evenings. 1990 Interview Mar. 18/3 These days you might see a lot of the goddesses imitating the nymphs with the ripped jeans and Gap pocket T-shirts. †c. French History. An extravagantly dressed Frenchwoman of the period of the Directory. Cf. merveilleuse n. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun] > member of > female fine lady1577 girl about ( the) towna1701 élégante1797 lionne1846 flâneuse1879 mondaine1888 mundane1897 nymph1898 Sloane Ranger1975 bright young thing2016 1898 M. Loyd tr. O. Uzanne Fashion in Paris i. 14 The Nymph and the Merveilleuse—those types of a period of deep corruption and open libertinage. 3. a. Zoology. An insect larva; (now) spec. the larva of a hemimetabolous insect, frequently resembling the adult in form though sexually immature; (formerly) (also) †a pupa (obsolete). Also: a mite or tick at a stage in the life cycle between larva and adult, having eight legs like the adult. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > pupa or chrysalis nymph1577 nympha1601 aurelia1608 chrysalis1658 puppet1671 pricket1707 pupa1770 chrysalid1777 pupe1819 naiad1918 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 185^v The other common sort, when they begin to haue fashion, are called Nimphes [L. nymphae]. 1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) ii. sig. E1 The young weake Nymphs falling in those shadie places..are in danger to be chilled. 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 898 At length they grow to be Nymphs, i.e. little Bees, but without wings. 1716 J. Gay Let. 26 Mar. (1966) 30 The nymph whose tail is all on Flame Is aptly term'd, a Glow worm. 1747 W. Gould Acct. Eng. Ants 44 They are called Nymphs in allusion to Brides, because when they leave this State, they are often arrayed in Gayety and Splendour. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) This is properly the nymph state. 1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 415 The nymphs of the large species leave the water altogether. 1895 D. Sharp in Cambr. Nat. Hist. V. i. 420 The mouth of the nymph bears a remarkable structure called the mask. 1936 Forestry 10 134 The first-stage nymphs..were overlooked in 1935 and first discerned at the end of March 1936 on the twigs of the previous year. 1965 J. D. Carthy Behaviour of Arthropods vi. 79 Among the termites, nymphs as well as adults can carry out these duties, but in hymenopteran societies it can only be adults which do so. 2001 tr. L.-H. Olsen et al. Small Woodland Creatures 91 It [sc. the sheep tick] takes one blood meal for each stage of development: 1st year as larva (with 6 legs), 2nd year as nymph, and 3rd year as adult. b. A fishing fly made in imitation of the aquatic larva of a mayfly. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies stone-flya1450 ant-fly1653 hawthorn-fly1653 mayfly1653 oak fly1653 wall-fly1653 pismire-fly1670 cow-lady1676 mayfly1676 owl fly1676 brown1681 cow-turd-fly1684 trout-fly1746 orl fly1747 hazel fly?1758 iron-blue fly?1758 red spinner?1758 Welshman's button?1758 buzz1760 Yellow Sally1766 ash-fly1787 black caterpillar1787 cow-dung fly1787 sharn-fly1787 spinner1787 woodcock-fly1787 huzzard1799 knop-fly1799 mackerel1799 watchet1799 iron blue1826 knob fly1829 mackerel fly1829 March brown1837 cinnamon fly1867 quill gnat1867 sedge-fly1867 cob-fly1870 woodcock wing1888 sedge1889 olive1895 quill1899 nymph1910 green weenie1977 Montana1987 1910 G. E. M. Skues Minor Tactics of Chalk Stream iv. 32 I had tied some nymphs of appropriate colour of body. 1922 R. C. Bridgett Dry-fly Fishing i. 17 The place of honour [as a lure] is occupied by the artificial nymph. 1987 Trout Fisherman Mar. 44/3 Wind-knots can get into the leader..by using too fine a tippet when fishing either a lure or a large, leaded nymph. 2018 G. Daniel Nymph Fishing iv. 97/1 Remember, the heavily weighted nymph will drop fast towards stream bottom. †4. Extended uses. a. literary and poetic. A stream, a river. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > [noun] > river floodc825 streamc875 eaeOE water streamOE flumec1175 fleamc1300 riverc1300 currentc1380 reea1500 ford1563 fluent1598 draught1601 nymph1605 amnic1623 flux1637 nullah1656 R1692 currency1758 silent highway1841 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 213 Kennet,..Her Siluer Nymphes (almost) directly leading, To meet her Mistresse (the great Thames) at Reading. a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 156 Having to these Seas of Joy..added this small Brook or Nymph of mine. 1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback 291 If the wandering nymph, Vaga, instead of flowing zigzag from Hereford to Ross, would but have meandered down this valley. b. A ship. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] shipc725 beamOE boardOE bargea1300 steera1300 vessela1300 treea1382 loomc1400 man1473 ark1477 bottom1490 keela1547 riverboat1565 craft1578 pine1592 class1596 flood-bickerer1599 pitchboard1599 stern-bearer1599 wooden horse1599 wooden isle1603 water treader?1615 water house1616 watercraft1618 machine1637 prore1642 lightman1666 embarkation1690 bark1756 prowa1771 Mudian1813 bastiment1823 hooker1823 nymph1876 M.F.V.1948 1876 R. F. Burton Two Trips Gorilla Land II. 15 I transferred myself on board H.M. Steamship ‘Zebra’, one of the nymphs of the British navy. †5. In plural. Anatomy = nympha n. 2. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva > labia lip1598 nymphs1615 labium1634 nympha1646 tablier1789 Hottentot apron1833 1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 239 The two smaller clefts..between the Nymphes, the two Nymphes themselues. 6. Conchology. = nympha n. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell > part of auricle1665 heel1673 lip1681 mouth1681 whirl1681 rib1711 antihelix1721 canal1734 columella1755 vesture1755 body whirl1776 fent1776 pillar1776 pillar-lip1776 septum1786 aperture1794 body whorl1807 costa1812 seam1816 spine1822 umbo1822 varix1822 peristome1828 summit1828 nucleus1833 concameration1835 lunula1835 nympha1836 nymph1839 lunule1842 peritreme1848 body chamber1851 axis1866 umbone1867 liration1904 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 319/1 Shell often gaping a little at the lateral extremities... Nymphs..gaping outwards. 1969 L. R. Cox in R. C. Moore Treat. Invertebr. Paleontol. N. I. 46/2 The nymphae or nymphs are narrow lunate platforms (one in each valve) which in many bivalves extend from the beaks along part of the posterodorsal margin. 1987 J. Pojeta in R. S. Boardman et al. Fossil Invertebr. xiv. 417/1 Elongate external ligaments may attach to narrow internal platforms called nymphs. 2000 J. C. W. Cope in E. M. Harper et al. Evolutionary Biol. Bivalvia (Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. No. 177) 88/1 It may be that the nymphs were perforce developed in the ctenodontids as the rearward migration of the umbones shortened the effective length of the ligament, thus making stronger insertion essential. Compounds C1. a. nymph-land n. ΚΠ a1872 J. Purchas in F. G. Lee Lyrics of Life & Light (1875) 15 Where the glamour of the Nymph-land—lo! the cold decorous wife! 1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Eclogues ix, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 60 Who was to chant us stories of Nymph-land, blossom and flower. 1998 Canberra Times 31 Oct. a5 One of our favourite walks beside the Swan River we called Nymph-land, because it seemed to us mysterious and wonderful, with a magical invisible presence. nymph-mother n. ΚΠ 1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings I. xxxviii. 257 The lovely nymph-mother of Ganymede. 1991 S. M. Haslam Hist. River xiv. 283 In Virgil's Georgics, the Shepherd Aristasus lost his bees..and called to his nymph mother by the sacred fountain of the rising river. 2013 S. D. Hales This is Philos. iii. 71 No more credence..than finding the bones of Achilles is evidence that his nymph-mother dunked him in the River Styx to secure a magical protection. nymph-pink n. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > pale red or pink incarnationa1475 carnation?1533 peach colour1573 maiden's blush1598 maiden blush1600 flesh-colour1611 gridelinc1640 incarnadine1661 pinka1669 peach bloom1716 pompadour1761 rose pink1772 salmon-colour1813 orange-pink1820 peachiness1820 maiden rose1827 pinkiness1828 peach-blow1829 peach1831 pink madder1835 flesh-tint1839 pinkness1840 rose du Barry1847 flesh1852 almond1872 ash of roses1872 nymph-pink1872 rose Pompadour1872 salmon1873 pinkishness1874 mushroom1884 salmon-pink1884 naturelle1887 shell-pink1887 sunrise1890 sultan pink1899 mushroom colour1900 sunblush1925 flesh tone1931 magnolia1963 1872 Globe 27 Sept. 2/3 For evening wear, the nymph pink, myosotis, maize, and pale mauve are the favourite colours; they..are becoming to the complexion. 1955 ISCC-NBS Method designating Colors (U.S. National Bureau of Standards Circular 553) 79/1 (table) Moderate Purplish Pink..Light Mauve..Nymph Pink..Quality Pink. 2004 Garden Aug. 595/1 The deep purply-pink of ‘Parade’, the nymph-pink of ‘Kew Rambler’. nymph-queen n. ΚΠ 1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xxviii. 75 While thus of both bereft, the nymph-queen [Calypso] doubly sigh'd. 1878 T. C. Irwin Skeletal Chaperon in Songs & Romances 222 An opera girl... Such a nymph queen of the boards. 1993 Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) (Nexis) 12 Mar. 17 He flashes through some spectacular bravura twirls and leaps, partnering nymph-queen Marielena Mencia. nymph-song n. rare ΚΠ 1930 E. Blunden Summer's Fancy 15 When nymph-songs echoed on the blossomed breeze. b. nymph-haunted adj. ΚΠ 1827 W. Wordsworth Ode iv, in Poet. Wks. III. 207 The Vault rang with choral harmony, Like some Nymph-haunted Grot beneath the roaring sea. 1881 O. Wilde Poems 69 Blue nymph-haunted seas. 1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 Aug. k4 The author ranges from the Garden of Eden..to the nymph-haunted gardens of classical Greece and Rome. 2013 G. Callaghan H. P. Lovecraft's Dark Arcadia i. 13 Lovecraft slowly reversed and inverted those Greek and Arcadian myths that he had loved as a youth, transforming nymph-haunted Arcadia into witch-haunted Arkham. † nymph-prompted adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 88 Nymph-prompted Nvma, or the Spartans Lord. † nymph-strong adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 413 The rowling ridges Of Nymph-strong floods. C2. nymph fishing n. fishing using a nymph as a fly (see sense 3b). ΚΠ 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 May 374/2 The delicate art of nymph-fishing. 1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 1 July 15/2 The Club rules permit only dry fly and nymph fishing until the end of July. 1990 Fly Fisherman Dec. 70/1 Dyed lines are especially advantageous for nymph fishing, because you tend to cast a bit farther upstream of the fish. 2018 G. Daniel (title) Nymph fishing: new angles, tactics, and techniques. Derivatives ˈnymphless adj. ΚΠ 1848 Athenæum 14 Oct. 1029/1 The wild rose hangs unwreathed; the nymphless stream Sings only to the weeds. 1906 Daily News 1 June 6/4 But Pan is dead And moulder'd is his pipe of reeds, And lorn are Tempè's nymphless meads. 1930 T. S. Moore in Eng. Rev. Feb. 247 Dead land, still hugged by thy warm sea Nymphless, unfauned, uncentauréd! 1948 C. Day Lewis Poems 1943–7 19 Otherwise the forest was silent: birdless; nymphless. 1951 E. J. Dent in Music Rev. 12 9 He [sc. Aminta] would have caused some complications in the plot and would have been left nymphless at the final pairing-off of the other characters. † nymphship n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1662 Life & Death Mrs. Mary Frith To Rdr. 3 He that..thinks not her Nymphship as venerable as any of that mysterious sisterhood, is not fit to carry Guts to a Beare. 1822 Eclectic Rev. Oct. 377 Mr. Clarke has been seduced by the charms of the Derwent, to enter the lists as her nymphship's champion. 1871 K. H. Digby Ouranogaia iv. 53 Some side observers can perceive How soon she will her nymphship leave. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nymphn.² Brit. /nɪmf/, U.S. /nɪmf/ Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nymphomaniac n. Etymology: Shortened < nymphomaniac n. Compare later nympho n. slang. A nymphomaniac. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > compulsion neurosis > nymphomania > person nymphomaniac1828 nymph1916 nympho1934 nymphomanic1990 1916 H. N. Cary Slang of Venery II. 14 Nymph, an abbreviation of nymphomaniac. A woman afflicted with insane sexual desires. 1967 L. Bruce in J. Cohen Essential L. Bruce 142 What could her problem have been? Narcotics? No. You're going to flip. She's a nymph. A nymphomaniac. 1997 Time Out 10 Sept. 117/1 Prince Rogers Nelson pinched his other-worldly sex nymph persona and blended it with Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nymphv. Brit. /nɪmf/, U.S. /nɪmf/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nymph n.¹ Etymology: < nymph n.¹ (compare sense 3 at that entry). Compare earlier nymphing n., nymphing adj. 1. intransitive. Of fish, esp. trout: to feed upon insect larvae near the surface of the water. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > [verb (intransitive)] > rise at or feed on insects smut1889 boil1898 smutter1899 nymph1972 the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > family Salmonidae (salmon) > [verb (intransitive)] > feed on insects at surface (of trout) nymph1972 1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 24 June 15/2 In the sheltered bay we saw the odd fish nymphing. 1983 Financial Times (Nexis) 21 May 11 I thought the fish was nymphing as all I could see was the dorsal fin and then the tail in a sort of porpoise motion. 1990 Fly Fisherman Dec. 2/1 He's nymphing. Ease down to the edge there and flip the nymph just upstream of him. 2. intransitive. Angling. To fish with a nymph as bait (see nymph n.¹ 3b). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (intransitive)] > fish using bait rove1661 ledger1688 trail1857 squida1859 spin1863 chum1882 mooch1947 nymph1982 1982 N.Y. Times 5 Apr. c9/1 I discovered that worming for bass is much like nymphing for trout. 1997 T. Pynchon Mason & Dixon 755 They have been nymphing by Moon-light in the Wear, hoping for Sea-Trout. 2002 Idaho Falls Post Reg. (Nexis) 7 Mar. 8 I was satisfied with my morning's fishing and was heading out, while Paul and his guests would remain on the creek, nymphing through the afternoon. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹c1385n.²1916v.1972
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nymphn.1

Compounds

Derivatives

nymphn.2

nymphv.

nymphn.¹

nymphn.²