Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Paranymph

Paranymph , noun

[Latin paranymphus, Greek {not transcribed}; para` beside, near + {not transcribed} a bride: compare French paranymphe.]

1.
(a) (Greek Antiquities) A friend of the bridegroom who went with him in his chariot to fetch home the bride.
(b)
(Greek Antiquities) The bridesmaid who conducted the bride to the bridegroom. — Milton
2.
An ally; a supporter or abettor. — Jer. Taylor