Adjacent Words

Harpy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

H`ARPY, n. [L. harpyia; Gr. to seize or claw.]
1. In antiquity, the harpies were fabulous winged monsters, having the face of a woman and the body of a vulture, with their feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. They were three in number, Aello, Ocypete, and Celeno. They were sent by Juno to plunder the table of Phineus. They are represented as rapacious and filthy animals.
2. Any rapacious or ravenous animal; an extortioner; a plunderer.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a malicious woman with a fierce temper [syn: vixen, harpy, hellcat]
2: (Greek mythology) vicious winged monster; often depicted as a bird with the head of a woman
3: any of various fruit bats of the genus Nyctimene distinguished by nostrils drawn out into diverging tubes [syn: harpy, harpy bat, tube-nosed bat, tube-nosed fruit bat]
4: large black-and-white crested eagle of tropical America [syn: harpy, harpy eagle, Harpia harpyja]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural harpies) Etymology: Latin Harpyia, from Greek Date: 1513 1. capitalized a foul malign creature in Greek mythology that is part woman and part bird 2. a. a predatory person ; leech b. a shrewish woman

Britannica Concise

In Greek and Roman mythology, a bird of prey with a woman's face. Often depicted on tombs, Harpies may originally have been conceived of as ghosts. In early Greek literature, incl. the writings of Homer and Hesiod, they were wind spirits and were not represented as ugly or repellent. In the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, however, the Harpies were hideous, foul-smelling birds with the faces of women, sent to punish King Phineus of Thrace by defiling his food; they were frightened away by the sons of Boreas.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 (in Greek and Roman mythology) a monster with a woman's head and body and bird's wings and claws. 2 a grasping unscrupulous person. Phrases and idioms: harpy eagle a S. American crested bird of prey, Harpia harpyja, one of the largest of eagles. Etymology: F harpie or L harpyia f. Gk harpuiai snatchers (cf. harpazo snatch)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Harpy Har"py, n.; pl. Harpies. [F. harpie, L. harpyia, Gr. ?, from the root of ? to snatch, to seize. Gf. Rapacious.] 1. (Gr. Myth.) A fabulous winged monster, ravenous and filthy, having the face of a woman and the body of a vulture, with long claws, and the face pale with hunger. Some writers mention two, others three. Both table and provisions vanished guite. With sound of harpies' wings and talons heard. --Milton. 2. One who is rapacious or ravenous; an extortioner. The harpies about all pocket the pool. --Goldsmith. 3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The European moor buzzard or marsh harrier (Circus [ae]ruginosus). (b) A large and powerful, double-crested, short-winged American eagle (Thrasa["e]tus harpyia). It ranges from Texas to Brazil. Harpy bat (Zo["o]l.) (a) An East Indian fruit bat of the genus Harpyia (esp. H. cerphalotes), having prominent, tubular nostrils. (b) A small, insectivorous Indian bat (Harpiocephalus harpia). Harpy fly (Zo["o]l.), the house fly.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(harpies) 1. In classical mythology, the harpies were creatures with the bodies of birds and the faces of women. They flew quickly and were cruel and greedy. N-COUNT: usu pl, oft the N 2. If you refer to a woman as a harpy, you mean that she is very cruel or violent. (LITERARY) ...a snobby, scheming harpy who sells off the family silverware. N-COUNT [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. (Mythol.) Defiling monster, half bird, half woman. 2. Duck-hawk, marsh-harrier, moor-buzzard, (Circus aeruginosus). 3. Extortioner, sharper, plunderer.

Moby Thesaurus

Argus, Briareus, Cerberus, Charybdis, Cyclops, Echidna, Gorgon, Harpy, Hydra, Loch Ness monster, Medusa, Minotaur, Pegasus, Python, Scylla, Sphinx, Talos, Typhon, Xanthippe, amazon, blackmailer, bloodsucker, centaur, chimera, cockatrice, dragon, drake, extortionist, fishwife, griffin, hippocampus, leech, mermaid, merman, nixie, ogre, ogress, predator, profiteer, racketeer, raptor, roc, salamander, satyr, scold, sea horse, sea serpent, shakedown artist, shark, shrew, siren, termagant, troll, unicorn, vampire, vixen, vulture, werewolf, windigo, xiphopagus, zombie