Nearby Words
noun, plural sphinx·es, sphin·ges 
[sfin-jeez] .
[sfin-jeez] . 1.
(in ancient Egypt)
a.
a figure of an imaginary creature having the head of a man or an animal and the body of a lion.
b.
(usually initial capital letter) the colossal recumbent stone figure of this kind near the pyramids of Giza.
2.
(initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. a monster, usually represented as having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Seated on a rock outside of Thebes, she proposed a riddle to travelers, killing them when they answered incorrectly, as all did before Oedipus. When he answered her riddle correctly the Sphinx killed herself.
3.
any similar monster.
4.
a mysterious, inscrutable person or thing, especially one given to enigmatic questions or answers.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek sphínx, equivalent to sphing-, base of sphíngein to hold tight (compare sphincter) + -s nominative singular ending
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek sphínx, equivalent to sphing-, base of sphíngein to hold tight (compare sphincter) + -s nominative singular ending
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Sphinges
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sphinx
c.1421, "monster of Gk. mythology," from L. Sphinx, from Gk. Sphinx, lit." the strangler," a back-formation from sphingein "to squeeze, bind" (see sphincter). Monster, having a lion's (winged) body and a woman's head, that waylaid travelers around Thebes and devoured those
EXPANDwho could not answer its questions; Oedipus solved the riddle and the Sphinx killed herself. The proper plural would be sphinges. Transf. sense of "person or thing of mysterious nature" is from 1610. In the Egyptian sense (usually male and wingless) it is attested from 1579; specific reference to the colossal stone one near the pyramids as Giza is attested from 1613.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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