Definition

A slender, graceful woman or girl; also, in mythology and fantasy, an air spirit or elemental being associated with wind and sky.

Example Usage

The ballet dancer moved across the stage with sylph-like elegance.

Origin

From French 'sylphe,' possibly derived from Greek 'silphe' (woodworm) or a Paracelsian coinage for air spirits.

Fun Fact

Paracelsus, a 16th-century alchemist, popularized sylphs as one of the four elemental spirits in Western esotericism.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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