noun, masculine/silf/plural: sylphes
sylph (the elemental being of air)
Related: sylphique
From New Latin sylphes, sylphi, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century, possibly based on a combination of Latin sylvestris (“from the woods”) + nympha (“nymph”), or otherwise Ancient Greek σίλφη (sílphē, “beetle”). More at sylph.