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==Origin==
==Origin==
Late [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English]: from Old French ''nimphe'', from [[Latin]] ''nympha'', from [[Greek]] ''numphē'' ‘nymph, bride’; related to Latin ''nubere'' ‘be the [[wife]] of.’
Late [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English]: from Old French ''nimphe'', from [[Latin]] ''nympha'', from [[Greek]] ''numphē'' ‘nymph, bride’; related to Latin ''nubere'' ‘be the [[wife]] of.’
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
The Greek word νύμφη has "bride" and "veiled" among its [[meanings]]: hence a marriageable young woman. Other [[readers]] refer the word (and also Latin ''nubere'' and German ''Knospe'') to a root expressing the idea of "swelling" (according to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesychius_of_Alexandria Hesychius], one of the meanings of νύμφη is "rose-bud").
==Definitions==
==Definitions==
*1: a [[mythological]] spirit of [[nature]] imagined as a [[beautiful]] maiden inhabiting [[rivers]], woods, or other locations.
*1: a [[mythological]] spirit of [[nature]] imagined as a [[beautiful]] maiden inhabiting [[rivers]], woods, or other locations.
:b. an artificial fly made to resemble the aquatic nymph of an insect, used in fishing.
:b. an artificial fly made to resemble the aquatic nymph of an insect, used in fishing.
*3 a mainly brown butterfly that frequents woods and [[forest]] glades.
*3 a mainly brown butterfly that frequents woods and [[forest]] glades.
==Description==
A '''nymph''' (Greek: νύμφη, nymphē) in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology Greek mythology] and in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_mythology Latin mythology] is a minor [[female]] nature [[deity]] typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from goddesses, ''nymphs'' are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as [[beautiful]], young [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubile nubile] maidens who love to [[dance]] and [[sing]]; their amorous [[freedom]] sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polis polis]. They are believed to dwell in [[mountains]] and groves, by springs and [[rivers]], and also in trees and in valleys and cool [[grottoes]]. Although they would never die of old age nor illness, and could give [[birth]] to fully [[immortal]] children if mated to a god, they themselves were not necessarily immortal, and could be beholden to [[death]] in various forms. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charybdis Charybdis] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scylla Scylla] were once ''nymphs''.
Other ''nymphs'', always in the shape of young maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus Dionysus], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes Hermes], or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan Pan], or a goddess, generally the huntress [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis Artemis]. Nymphs were the frequent target of [[satyrs]].
Due to the depiction of the [[mythological]] ''nymphs'' as [[females]] who [[mate]] with men or women at their own [[volition]], and are completely outside of [[male]] [[control]], the term is often used for women who are perceived as behaving similarly. (For example, the title of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Mason Perry Mason] detective novel ''The Case of the Negligent Nymph'' (1956) by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Stanley_Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner] is derived from this [[meaning]] of the word.)
The term ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphomania nymphomania]'' was created by modern [[psychology]] as referring to a "desire to engage in human sexual [[behavior]] at a level high enough to be considered clinically significant", ''nymphomaniac'' being the person suffering from such a disorder. Due to widespread use of the term among lay persons (often shortened to nympho) and stereotypes attached, professionals nowadays prefer the term ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersexuality hypersexuality]'', which can refer to males and females alike.
The word ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphet nymphet]'' is used to identify a sexually precocious girl. The term was made famous in the novel ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita Lolita]'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov Vladimir Nabokov]. The main character, Humbert Humbert, uses the term many times, usually in reference to the title character.
[[Category: The Classics]]
[[Category: The Classics]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
