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zombola
04-03-2015, 12:47 PM
\ silf \ , noun;
1.
A slender, graceful woman or girl.

2.
(In folklore) one of a race of supernatural beings supposed to inhabit the air.



Quotes:
The sylph had been as slender as a willow, with long silver hair and eyes like the dark between the stars.
-- Jenna Reynolds, Kiss of Honor

Ben was frantic. He lifted the stricken sylph in his arms and held her close against him
-- Terry Brooks, Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold!

The girl's slender and sylph- like figure, tinged with radiance from the sunset clouds, and overhung with the rich drapery of the silken curtains, and set within the deep frame of the window, was a perfect picture.
-- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Snow-Image, and Other Tales



Origin:
Sylph was coined by Paracelsus. It is a blend of sylva , which meant "forest" in Latin, and the Greek word nymph.