nymph

n. nature deity appearing as a beautiful maiden (Mythology); beautiful young woman; larval stage in insect development (also nympha)

In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of female entities in human form, that is either bound to a particular location, or landform, or is part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally Artemis. Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs.Nymphs live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis; the prophetic Apollo; the reveller and god of wine, Dionysus; and rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes.The symbolic marriage of a nymph and a patriarch, often the eponym of a people, is repeated endlessly in Greek origin myths; their union lent authority to the archaic king and his line.
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Noun
1. (classical mythology) a minor nature goddess usually depicted as a beautiful maiden; "the ancient Greeks believed that nymphs inhabited forests and bodies of water"
(hypernym) Greco-Roman deity, Graeco-Roman deity
(hyponym) Echo
(classification) classical mythology
2. a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly)
(hypernym) larva
3. a voluptuously beautiful young woman
(synonym) houri
(hypernym) woman, adult female

(n.)
The pupa of an insect; a chrysalis.
  

(n.)
Any one of a subfamily (Najades) of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.
  

(n.)
A lovely young girl; a maiden; a damsel.
  

(n.)
A goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows, or waters.
  

Nymph [from Greek nymphe bride] Applied to a numerous order of nature spirits, regarded as feminine, pertaining to water, mountains, trees, etc. They are undeveloped entities, occupying their own place in the evolutionary ladder, and finding their material vehicles in various natural objects. Both the Greek nymphe and the Latin nympha have the transferred meaning of water.