nymph v. sylph

John William Waterhouse - Hylas and the Nymphs (1896)

In Greek and Roman mythology, nymphs are minor deities represented as beautiful maidens who inhabit and personify natural features or locations, such as rivers, forests, and mountains.

According to the occult philosophy of the sixteenth century physician and alchemist Paracelsus, a sylph is a (usually female) elemental being that inhabits the air. Paracelsus also introduced elementals corresponding to the remaining classical Greek elements: Ondines are water elementals, gnomes are earth elementals, and salamanders are fire elementals.

Either word can also be applied to a beautiful or graceful young woman.