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sphinx

UK/ˈsfɪŋks/ US/ˈsfɪŋks/ uncommon dated rare

noun

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

Origin

From Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps either from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “to squeeze, to strangle”) (whence also sphincter), of Pre-Greek origin, or from Egyptian Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “divine image”, literally “living image”).

Phrases

  • Achemon sphinx
  • Nessus sphinx
  • satellite sphinx
  • sphinx moth
  • Tantalus sphinx
  • tomato sphinx
  • Virginia creeper sphinx
  • white-lined sphinx

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.