Adjacent Words

Sphinx definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPHINX, n. [L. sphinx.]
1. A famous monster in Egypt, having the body of a lion and the face of a young woman.
2. In entomology, the hawk-moth, a genus of insects.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
2: (Greek mythology) a riddling winged monster with a woman's head and breast on a lion's body; daughter of Typhon
3: one of a number of large stone statues with the body of a lion and the head of a man that were built by the ancient Egyptians

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural sphinxes or sphinges) Etymology: Latin, from Greek Sphinx, Sphix Date: 15th century 1. a. capitalized a winged female monster in Greek mythology having a woman's head and a lion's body and noted for killing anyone unable to answer its riddle b. an enigmatic or mysterious person <she is a sphinx whose features hold a blank fascination> 2. an ancient Egyptian image in the form of a recumbent lion having a man's head, a ram's head, or a hawk's head • sphinxlike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 (Sphinx) (in Greek mythology) the winged monster of Thebes, having a woman's head and a lion's body, whose riddle Oedipus guessed and who consequently killed herself. 2 Antiq. a any of several ancient Egyptian stone figures having a lion's body and a human or animal head. b (the Sphinx) the huge sphinx near the Pyramids at Giza. 3 an enigmatic or inscrutable person. 4 a a hawk moth. b a species of baboon, Papio sphinx. Etymology: L f. Gk Sphigx, app. f. sphiggo draw tight

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sphinx Sphinx, n. [L., from Gr. sfi`gx, usually derived from sfi`ggein to bind tight or together, as if the Throttler.] 1. (a) In Egyptian art, an image of granite or porphyry, having a human head, or the head of a ram or of a hawk, upon the wingless body of a lion.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also Sphinx(sphinxes) The Sphinx is a large ancient statue of a creature with a human head and a lion's body that stands near the pyramids in Egypt. In mythology, sphinxes gave people puzzles to solve, and so a person who is mysterious or puzzling is sometimes referred to as a sphinx. N-COUNT: usu the N in sing

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see sphinx