Definition of "Daphne"

Daphne

/ˈdæfni/

proper noun
1. (Greek mythology) A dryad pursued by Apollo, who was turned into a laurel tree by the river god Peneus.
  Quotations
  Run when you will, the story shall be chang'd; / Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase; / The dove pursues the griffin
  c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene i]
2. (astronomy) 41 Daphne, a main belt asteroid.
3. A female given name from Ancient Greek.
  Quotations
  My wife. Daphne. Yes, that was, is, her name. For some reason people have always found it faintly comic. I think it matches very well her damp, dark, myopic beauty.
  1989, John Banville, The Book of Evidence, page 7