nymph
nymph (nimf) , noun
[Latin nympha nymph, bride, young woman, Greek ny`mfh: compare French nymphe. Compare Nuptial.]
1.
(Class. Mythology) A goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows, or waters.
Where were ye, nymphs, when the remorseless deep
Closed o'er the head of your loved Lycidas?
2.
A lovely young girl; a maiden; a damsel.
Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
3.
(Zoology) The pupa of an insect; a chrysalis.
4.
(Zoology) Any one of a subfamily (Najades) of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.