Meanings
plural ephydriads
- rareA dryad, a water nymph.
'Tis there the Ephydriads haunt;—there, where a gap / Betwixt a heap of tree-tops, hollow and dun, / Shews where the waters run, / And whence the fountain's tongue begins to lap.
1832, Leigh Hunt, The Ephydriads1 more example
in the golden dusty summer [we] tramped down into the verdant valley, even then a haunt of every leafy spirit and the blue-eyed ephydriads, now Nature's slimy wound with spikes of blackened bone […].
1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin, published 2010, page 107
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐφυδριάς
- Englishephydriad
From Ancient Greek ἐφυδριάς (ephudriás), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ephydriad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephydriad
“ephydriad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephydriad. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ephydriad,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephydriad.
Source: ephydriad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.