Meaning

noun a slender graceful young woman

noun an elemental being believed to inhabit the air

originFirst 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0