noun, plural dry·ads, dry·a·des [drahy–uh-deez] /ˈdraɪ əˌdiz/. (often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology.
- a deity or nymph of the woods.
noun plural -ads or -ades (-əˌdiːz)
- Greek myth a nymph or divinity of the woods
1550s, from Latin dryas, from Greek dryas (plural dryades) “wood nymph,” from drus (genitive dryos) “oak,” from PIE *deru- “tree, wood, oak” (see tree (n.)).