sylph

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

sylph

/sɪlf/

Rhymes with -ɪlf

Where it comes from

First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan.

More at Wikipedia.

noun sylphs

An invisible being of the air. Her heart fluttered with expectation—her step was buoyant with hope, and she sprung into the carriage with the lightness of a sylph.
Similar: sylphid
The elemental being of air, usually female.
broadly A slender woman or girl, usually graceful and sometimes with the implication of sublime station over everyday people.
Any of the mainly dark green and blue hummingbirds (genus Aglaiocercus), the male of which has a long forked tail.

Translations

Every language

noun The elemental being of air

Español	sílfide
Português	silfo, sílfide
Français	sylphe, sylphide
Deutsch	Sylphe, Luftgeist
Italiano	silfide, silfo

noun A slender girl

Deutsch	Sylphide
Italiano	silfide

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"sylph." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sylph. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sylph. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sylph

Chicago

"sylph." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sylph.

BibTeX

@misc{sylph_2026,
  title = {sylph},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sylph},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}