nymphaea

N1Y4M3P3H4A1E1A1
UK/nɪmˈfiːə/

noun

the European white water lily.

OriginLatin nymphaea ← Ancient Greek νῠμφαία (nŭmphaía) →
UncommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nymphaea1

nounnymphaea (plural nymphaeas)

plural nymphaeas

  1. originallybiologythe European white water lily.

    Guianerius, cap. 8, tract. 15, would have them used twice a day, and when they come forth of the baths, their backbones to be anointed with oil of almonds, violets, nymphæa, fresh capon-grease, etc.

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection v
  2. biologyAny species of the genus Nymphaea.

nymphaea2

noun
  1. pluralplural of nymphaeum

Origin

nymphaea · noun

  1. Ancient Greekνῠμφαία (nŭmphaía)
  2. Latinnymphaea
  3. Englishnymphaea

From Latin nymphaea, from Ancient Greek νυμφαῖα (numphaîa), feminine singular form of νυμφαῖος (numphaîos, “sacred to the nymphs”), from νύμφη (númphē, “nymph”). Sense 2 is a semantic loan from translingual Nymphaea, from the same Latin and Greek.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, translingual

Full word history & related roots →

nymphaea · noun

Inflected forms.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Latin nymphaea
  • nymphaeaplant of the genus Nymphaea
Russian нимфе́я
  • нимфе́я (nimféja)plant of the genus Nymphaea
Slovak nymfea
  • nymfeaplant of the genus Nymphaea

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Payneham
Cite this entry
APA

nymphaea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nymphaea

MLA

“nymphaea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nymphaea. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nymphaea,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nymphaea.

Source: nymphaea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.