7 August 2016

naiad

[ney-ad, -uh d, nahy-]

noun, plural naiads, naiades [ney-uh-deez, nahy-]

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. any of a class of nymphs presiding over rivers and springs.
2. the juvenile form of the dragonfly, damselfly, or mayfly.
3. a female swimmer, especially an expert one.
4. Botany. a plant of the genus Najas, having narrow leaves and solitary flowers.
5. Entomology. an aquatic nymph.
6. a freshwater mussel.

Origin of naiad

Latin Greek< Latin Nāïad- (stem of Nāïas) < Greek Nāïás a water nymph

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for naiad

Contemporary Examples

First, a naiad is a water nymph in Greek myth—a woman who looked over the waterways.
The Crossword Puzzle Turns 100: The ‘King of Crossword’ on Its Strange History
Kevin Fallon
December 20, 2013

If you look in the dictionary today, it says “ naiad : any skillful female wimmer.”
The Crossword Puzzle Turns 100: The ‘King of Crossword’ on Its Strange History
Kevin Fallon
December 20, 2013

Historical Examples

The naiad willow, arching lowland brooks, speaks as water, very secretly.
Minstrel Weather
Marian Storm

Why it is thus, one knows in heaven above: But, a poor naiad, I guess not.
Endymion
John Keats

Anagram

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Today’s quote

The nose of a mob is its imagination. By this, at any time, it can be quietly led.

– Edgar Allan Poe

On this day

7 October 1849 – death of Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and novelist, The Raven. Born 19 January 1809.

7 October 1913 – Henry Ford implements the moving assembly line … changing the face of manufacturing forever.

7 October 1931 – birth of Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of South Africa. Won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

7 October 2001 – United States invades Afghanistan as they hunt for Osama Bin Laden and to take down the Taliban government for allowing him to live there. It was nearly 10 years later, in 2011, that US Special Forces captured and killed Bin Laden in Pakistan.