griffin

1
[ grif-in ]
See synonyms for griffin on Thesaurus.com
nounClassical Mythology.
  1. a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Origin of griffin

1
1300–50; Middle English griffoun <Middle French grifon <Latin grȳphus <Greek grȳp- (stem of grȳ́ps ) “curled, curved, having a hooked nose”
  • Also grif·fon, gryph·on [grif-uhn] /ˈgrɪf ən/ .

Other words from griffin

  • grif·fin·esque, adjective

Words Nearby griffin

Other definitions for griffin (2 of 3)

griffin2
[ grif-in ]

noun
  1. (in India and the East) a newcomer, especially a white person from a Western country.

Origin of griffin

2
First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain

Other words from griffin

  • grif·fin·age, grif·fin·hood, grif·fin·ism, noun
  • grif·fin·ish, adjective

Other definitions for Griffin (3 of 3)

Griffin
[ grif-in ]

noun
  1. a city in W Georgia.

  2. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use griffin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for griffin (1 of 2)

griffin1

griffon or gryphon

/ (ˈɡrɪfɪn) /


noun
  1. a winged monster with an eagle-like head and the body of a lion

Origin of griffin

1
C14: from Old French grifon, from Latin grӯphus, from Greek grups, from grupos hooked

British Dictionary definitions for griffin (2 of 2)

griffin2

/ (ˈɡrɪfɪn) /


noun
  1. a newcomer to the Orient, esp one from W Europe

Origin of griffin

2
C18: of unknown origin

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