sylph

Meaning

1. An invisible being of the air.
2. The elemental being of air, usually female.
3. (broadly) A slender woman or girl, usually graceful and sometimes with the implication of sublime station over everyday people.
4. Any of the mainly dark green and blue hummingbirds (genus Aglaiocercus), the male of which has a long forked tail.

Synonyms

pixy

fairy

🧚

fay

faery

mermaid

🧜‍♀️

naiad

nix

nymph

sprite

undine

water nymph

Nereid

brownie

sylphid

elf

🧝

faerie

Translations

sylphe

sylphide

sílfide

silfo

Sylphe

sílfide

silfide

silfo

Luftgeist

sílfide

ince

zarif

luchtgeest

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sɪlf/

Etymology

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.