- one of a numerous class of lesser deities of mythology, conceived of as beautiful maidens inhabiting the sea, rivers, woods, trees, mountains, meadows, etc., and frequently mentioned as attending a superior deity.
- a beautiful or graceful young woman.
- a maiden.
- the young of an insect that undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.
- a spirit of nature envisaged as a beautiful maiden
- a beautiful young woman
- the immature form of some insects, such as the dragonfly and mayfly, and certain arthropods. Nymphs resemble the adult, apart from having underdeveloped reproductive organs and (in the case of insects) wings, and develop into the adult without a pupal stage
