C16: via Late Latin from Greek paranumphos, from para-1 + numphē bride (literally: person beside the bride)
paranymph in American English
(ˈpærəˌnɪmf)
noun
1.
in ancient Greece, a groomsman who escorted the bridegroom when he went to bring his bride home, or a bridesmaid who escorted the bride to the bridegroom
2.
a best man or bridesmaid
Word origin
LL paranymphus < Gr paranymphos < para-, beside (see para-1) + nymphē, bride: see nubile