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View synonyms for sylph
sylph
[ silf ]
noun
- a slender, graceful woman or girl.
- (in folklore) one of a race of supernatural beings supposed to inhabit the air.
sylph
/ sɪlf /
noun
- a slender graceful girl or young woman
- any of a class of imaginary beings assumed to inhabit the air
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Derived Forms
- ˈsylphˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From
- sylphic adjective
- sylphlike adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of sylph1
C17: from New Latin sylphus, probably coined from Latin silva wood + Greek numphē nymph
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Synonym Study
Sylph, salamander, undine ( nymph ), gnome were imaginary beings inhabiting the four elements once believed to make up the physical world. All except the gnomes were female. Sylphs dwelt in the air and were light, dainty, and airy beings. Salamanders dwelt in fire: “a salamander that … lives in the midst of flames” (Addison). Undines were water spirits: By marrying a man, an undine could acquire a mortal soul. (They were also called nymphs, though nymphs were ordinarily minor divinities of nature who dwelt in woods, hills, and meadows as well as in waters.) Gnomes were little old men or dwarfs, dwelling in the earth: ugly enough to be king of the gnomes.
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Example Sentences
On finding himself the object of our attention, the man vanished with the swiftness of a sylph.
From Project Gutenberg
But no sylph came again; no form rivaled the zephyr before me.
From Project Gutenberg
One word again made me a captive: that word was now "Lafontaine;" and at the same moment I saw the sylph bounding to my side.
From Project Gutenberg
"Wait in this spot until I return," was all that I heard, before he and the sylph had waltzed away far down the hall.
From Project Gutenberg
Fanciful as it may seem, the little sylph bore a striking resemblance to the flower from which she sprung.
From Project Gutenberg
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