Crossword Genius

Representation of an elf initially said to evoke water nymphs (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

naiades

'water nymphs' is the definition.
(naiad is a kind of water nymph)

'representation of an elf initially said' is the wordplay.
'representation of' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen this in other clues).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'elf' is 'e'.
'an'+'e'+'said'='anesaid'
'anesaid' anagrammed gives 'NAIADES'.

'to evoke' acts as a link.

(Another definition for naiades that I've seen is " nymphs".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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