dryad

noun

dry·​ad ˈdrī-əd 

-ˌad

plural dryads

: a spirit that lives in the forest : wood nymph, fairy

For the Greek all of nature was instinct with life … Every tree had its dryad, and the oak was sacred to Zeus, the olive to Athene, the bay to Apollo, the myrtle to Aphrodite, the poplar to Heracles.

—World Religions

… a sunrise stroll with a dryad in a dew-drenched forest …

—Edith Wharton

Did you know?

Dryad and Greek Mythology

The term dryad comes from the Greek word for "oak tree". As the Greeks saw it, every tree (not only oaks) had a spirit. The best known of the dryads was Daphne. The beautiful daughter of a river god, she was desired by the god Apollo; as he was about to capture her, she prayed to her father to save her, and he transformed her into a laurel tree. In her honor, Apollo commanded that the poet who won the highest prize every year be crowned with a laurel wreath. The Greeks' respect for trees unfortunately failed to keep Greece's forests from shrinking greatly over the centuries, and those that remain produce little wood of good quality.

Synonyms

• hamadryad
• naiad
• nymph
• oread
• wood nymph

Examples of dryad in a Sentence

dryads were said to live within trees, their lives ending when the life of the tree ended

Recent Examples on the Web

Having regained his health, Geralt heads off with Jaskier and the dryad Milva to find Ciri, following a little skirmish with some power-mad guards. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 July 2023

Merlin and Cosmo are both in their 30s, with dark curly hair and similarly rangy builds, though Merlin’s face is more delicate, as though a distant ancestor might have been part elf or dryad. —Jennifer Kahn, New York Times, 8 June 2023

Breaking off a piece of the mushroom, Sheldrake pointed out its pores and scaly top, then tentatively identified it as dryad saddle. —Jennifer Kahn, New York Times, 8 June 2023

Players will start out controlling a centaur with a whip as their dungeon manager, but eventually a dryad enchantress and monkey engineer can also be unlocked, with each master necessitating various styles of gameplay. —Jason Bennett, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2021

The taste is close to water, only water as if just rained down and sipped from a blossom, with a delicate, attenuated sweetness: what a dryad might live on. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2018

Isaac, the dryad Lena Greenwood, and the fire-spider Smudge lead the efforts to uncover the mystery. —John Booth, WIRED, 7 Aug. 2012

Word History

Etymology

Latin dryad-, dryas, from Greek, from drys tree — more at tree entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dryad

noun

dry·​ad ˈdrī-əd 

-ˌad

: a nymph living in woods