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Webster 1913 Edition
Sylph
Sylph
,Noun.
[F.
sylphe
, m., fr. Gr. [GREEK] a kind of grub, beetle, or moth; – so called by Paracelsus.] 1.
An imaginary being inhabiting the air; a fairy.
2.
Fig.: A slender, graceful woman.
3.
(Zool.)
Any one of several species of very brilliant South American humming birds, having a very long and deeply-forked tail;
as, the blue-tailed
. sylph
(Cynanthus cyanurus
)Webster 1828 Edition
Sylph
SYLPH
,Noun.
Definition 2024
sylph
sylph
English
Noun
sylph (plural sylphs)
- (mythology) An invisible being of the air
- The elemental being of air, usually female.
- A slender woman or girl, usually graceful and sometimes with the implication of sublime station over everyday people.
- 1811, Mary Bruton, Self-Control (novel):
- Her heart fluttered with expectation—her step was buoyant with hope, and she sprung into the carriage with the lightness of a sylph.
- 1811, Mary Bruton, Self-Control (novel):
- Any of the mainly dark green and blue hummingbirds (genus Aglaiocercus), the male of which has a long forked tail.
Translations
The elemental being of air