dryad
2
9.9
- noun
- /ˈdraɪæd/
- Literature
:
dríada
- In Greek mythology, a dryad is said to protect her oak tree from harm.
- dryads and satyrs
- dryad, a wood nymph
Examples
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It is not difficult to comprehend how people who lived among olive groves developed dryad superstitions and created legends of flying women transformed into trees.
Blog text (22) -
We fauns danced with the dryads all night, and, you know, we never got tired.
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A Dryad lived in every tree.
Academic text (2003) -
I was now a male dryad, if such a creature were possible.
Fiction book (2002) -
A dryad sung it to me when I was just a mouseling.
-
She was utterly feminine but incorporeal as a dryad.
Academic text (1994) -
And then he'd wander through the woods behind the house, or climb a tree and sit in silent waiting, listening for the sounds of forest folk—the wood sprites and the dryads.
Fiction book (1998) -
The dryad danced gracefully among the leaves, embodying the spirit of the forest.
-
According to legend, if you whisper to a dryad, she might grant you a wish.
Synonyms
2
9.5
A female spirit who lives in a forest and watches over the trees
1
9.9
A female spirit that lives on mountains and rocky hills
1
9.9
A female spirit who lives in water places like lakes or springs
A spirit in old stories that lives in one tree, often an oak
Surface Forms
Etymology
Dryad comes from the Greek word drys, which means 'oak' or 'tree', so a dryad was thought to be a spirit that lives in a tree, especially an oak. That's why myths say dryads protect their trees and the forest.