dryad
/ˈdraɪæd/
noun
- In Greek mythology, a spirit or nymph that lives in a tree and is connected to its life.
- The ancient story tells of a dryad who protected the oak tree in the forest.
- Children imagined a dryad peeking out from behind the willow tree.
- In the myth, the woodcutter was cursed for harming the tree where a dryad lived.