A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. The other three elemental spirits named were Gnomes (earth), Salamanders (fire), and Undines (water).

Sylphs are described as rougher, coarser, taller, and stronger than humans. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Because of this, sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck.

Because of their association with the ballet La Sylphide, where sylphs are identified with fairies and the medieval legends of fairyland, as well as a confusion with other "airy spirits" (e.g., in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream), a slender girl may be referred to as a sylph.

"Sylph" has passed into general language as a term for minor spirits, elementals, or faeries of the air. Fantasy authors will sometimes employ sylphs in their fiction, for example creating giant artistic clouds in the skies with airy wings.

All published appearances of sylphs from before January 1, )-(95)}} are in the public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances include:

*A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits (1566)
*Simplicius Simplicissimus (1668)
*Comte de Gabalis (1670)
*Rape of the Lock (1717)
*The Sylph (1778)
*Moral Tales (1765)

*La Sylphide (1832)
*The Mountain Sylph (1834)
*Les Sylphides (1909)

*RuneSword II (2001)

*The Silph Company, featured prominently within the Pokémon franchise, manufactures a device called the Silph Scope, which allows the user to view spectral entities otherwise unidentifiable to the naked eye. Some Pokémon are known for being inspired by the sylph such as [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sylveon_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Sylveon].

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylph Wikipedia]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/undines/4060-65650/ ComicVine]
*Myths in Media Wiki
Category:Mythological Characters
Category:Fantasy Creatures
Category:Fairy Characters
Category:1566 Debuts
Category:Paracelsus - Creator
Category:Winged Characters
Category:Flying Characters
Category:Monster Characters
Category:Manga / Anime Characters
Category:Literary Characters
Category:Animated Characters
Category:RPG Characters
Category:TCG Characters
Category:Dungeons & Dragons Characters
Category:Final Fantasy Characters
Category:Digimon Characters
Category:Pokemon Characters
Category:Nintendo Characters
Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster
Category:Monster Girl Encyclopedia Characters
Category:Shin Megami Tensei Characters
Category:Video Game Characters
Category:Valkyrie Crusade Characters
Category:Dragon Quest Characters
Category:Sid Story Characters
Category:Pathfinder Characters
Category:Monster Girl Quest! Characters
Category:Puzzle & Dragons Characters
Category:Granblue Fantasy Characters
Category:Monster Musume Characters
Category:Theatre Characters
Category:Mythwars Puzzles Characters
Category:Guardian Cross Characters
Category:Devil Maker Tokyo Characters
Category:Reign of Dragons Characters
Category:Disney Characters
Category:Idle Angels Characters
Category:Brave Frontier Characters
Category:Brave Nine Characters
Category:Endless Grades Characters
Category:Destiny of Spirits Characters
Category:Taimanin Characters
Category:Legend of Minerva Characters
Category:Jobmania: Eternal Dungeon Characters
Category:Heroes of Might and Magic Characters
Category:Black Clover Characters
Category:Divine Gate Characters
Category:Fantasica Characters
Category:Force of Will Characters
Category:Summons Board Characters
Category:Z/X Characters
Category:Skydoms Characters
Category:RuneSword Characters
Category:Witcher Characters
Category:Blue Exorcist Characters
Category:Valkyrie Fantasia Characters