Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sylph

/sɪlf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.98 in modern English

Syllables: sylph
IPA: /sɪlf/

13

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An invisible being of the air.

noun

The elemental being of air, usually female.

noun

A slender woman or girl, usually graceful and sometimes with the implication of sublime station over everyday people.

noun

Any of the mainly dark green and blue hummingbirds (genus Aglaiocercus), the male of which has a long forked tail.

Example Sentences

"Her heart fluttered with expectation—her step was buoyant with hope, and she sprung into the carriage with the lightness of a sylph."
"Necromancy meant originally the conjuring up the souls of the dead, and later included the conjuring of all sorts of inhuman spirits such as sylphs, giants, and djinn."

Etymology

First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan. More at Wikipedia.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: sylphes, sylvestris

Inflected Forms

sylphs (plural)

Derived Forms

sylphic sylphish sylphlike sylphy

Frequently Paired Words

sylvan savage Silvanus

Synonyms

sylphid

Rhymes With

milf dilf

Questions

How do you pronounce sylph?: The recorded pronunciation is /sɪlf/.
What does sylph mean?: An invisible being of the air.
Where does sylph come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce sylph

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sylph”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sɪlf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sylph”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sylph” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.