ˈnim(p)f noun
( plural nymphs -m(p)ts, -mps)
Etymology: Middle English nimphe, from Middle French, nymph, from Latin nympha bride, nymph, from Greek nymphē — more at nuptial
1. Greek & Roman mythology : one of the minor divinities of nature that are represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, meadows, and waters — compare naiad , nereid , oceanid , oread , wood nymph 1
she fled as if she were a startled nymph — E.A.Peeples
2.
a. : girl
b. : a woman of loose morals
3.
a. : any of various hemimetabolic insects in an immature stage: as
(1) : a late larva (as of a true bug) in which wing pads and rudiments of the genitalia are present ; broadly : any insect larva that differs chiefly in size and degree of differentiation from the imago
(2) : naiad 2
b. : a mite or tick in the first 8-legged form that immediately follows the last larval molt
c. : a nymphal stage in the life cycle of an insect or acarid
4. : nymph pink
5. : an artificial fly of a type made in imitation of the larval stage of the Ephemeridae