Nymph (?), n. [L. nympha nymph, bride, young woman, Gr. : cf. F. nymphe. Cf. Nuptial.]
1. Class. Myth.
A goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows, or waters.
Where were ye, nymphs, when the remorseless deep
Closed o'er the head of your loved Lycidas ?
Milton.
2.
Hence: A lovely young girl; a maiden; a damsel.
Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
Shak.
3. Zool.
The pupa of an insect; a chrysalis.
4. Zool.
Any one of a subfamily (Najades) of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.
© Webster 1913.