The word sprite is derived from the Latinspiritus ("spirit"), via the French esprit. Variations on the term include spright and the Celticspriggan. The term is chiefly used with regard to elves and fairies in European folklore, and in modern English is rarely used in reference to spirits.
The prince thanking the Water sprite, from The Princess Nobody: A Tale of Fairyland (1884) by Andrew Lang (illustration by Richard Doyle)
The belief in diminutive beings such as sprites, elves, fairies, etc. has been common in many parts of the world, and might to some extent still be found within neo-spiritual and religious movements such as "neo-druidism" and Ásatrú.
In some elemental magics, the sprite is often believed to be the elemental of air (see also sylph).
A water sprite (also called a water fairy or water faery) is a general term for an elemental spirit associated with water, according to alchemist Paracelsus. Water sprites are said to be able to breathe water or air and sometimes can fly.
These creatures exist in the mythology of various groups. Ancient Greeks knew water nymphs in several types such as naiads (or nyads), which were divine entities that tended to be fixed in one place[2] and so differed from gods or physical creatures. Slavic mythology knows them as vilas.
Water sprites differ from corporeal beings, such as selkies, mermaids, and sirens, as they are not purely physical and are more akin to local deities than animals.[3]
sprite, folklore, sprite, supernatural, entity, european, mythology, they, often, depicted, fairy, like, creatures, ethereal, entity, spritegroupinglegendary, creature, pixie, fairyregioneuropethe, word, sprite, derived, from, latin, spiritus, spirit, french, . A sprite is a supernatural entity in European mythology They are often depicted as fairy like creatures or as an ethereal entity 1 SpriteGroupingLegendary creature Pixie FairyRegionEuropeThe word sprite is derived from the Latin spiritus spirit via the French esprit Variations on the term include spright and the Celtic spriggan The term is chiefly used with regard to elves and fairies in European folklore and in modern English is rarely used in reference to spirits Contents 1 Belief in sprites 2 Water sprite 3 References 4 External linksBelief in sprites Edit The prince thanking the Water sprite from The Princess Nobody A Tale of Fairyland 1884 by Andrew Lang illustration by Richard Doyle The belief in diminutive beings such as sprites elves fairies etc has been common in many parts of the world and might to some extent still be found within neo spiritual and religious movements such as neo druidism and Asatru In some elemental magics the sprite is often believed to be the elemental of air see also sylph Water sprite EditFor the plant species see Ceratopteris thalictroides Main article Water spirit Dancing Fairies by the Swedish painter August Malmstrom A water sprite also called a water fairy or water faery is a general term for an elemental spirit associated with water according to alchemist Paracelsus Water sprites are said to be able to breathe water or air and sometimes can fly These creatures exist in the mythology of various groups Ancient Greeks knew water nymphs in several types such as naiads or nyads which were divine entities that tended to be fixed in one place 2 and so differed from gods or physical creatures Slavic mythology knows them as vilas Water sprites differ from corporeal beings such as selkies mermaids and sirens as they are not purely physical and are more akin to local deities than animals 3 References Edit Briggs Katharine M 1976 A Dictionary of Fairies Harmondsworth Middlesex Penguin p 381 ISBN 978 0 14 004753 0 Rose Herbert 1959 A Handbook of Greek Mythology New York E P Dutton amp Co pp 173 ISBN 978 0 525 47041 0 Simpson Jacqueline 2000 A Dictionary of English Folklore Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0198607663 External links EditSprite folklore at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Texts from Wikisource Swedish Myths Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sprite folklore amp oldid 1117670983 Water sprite, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
