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Sphinx
Definitions
- 1 An ancient, large statue in Egypt, with the face of a man and the body of a lion, lying near the Great Pyramids.
- 2 One of the many offspring of Typhon and Echidna, a winged lion-like creature with a woman's face, who dwelt near the city of Thebes in Boeotia and terrorized travelers by posing riddles, killing those who failed to answer correctly; after Oedipus solved her riddle, she committed suicide out of frustration. Greek
- 1 A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion.
"[W]hatsoe'er of strange / Sculptured on alabaster obelisk, / Or jasper tomb, or mutilated sphynx, / Dark Æthiopia in her desert hills. / Conceals."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of sphinx (“a sculpture representing the Theban Sphinx”) alt-of
"In the third, which leadeth to the fonts and walkes, are two Sphinges very curiouſly carued in braſſe […]"
- 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 wordnet
- 4 A person who keeps their thoughts and intentions secret; an enigmatic or impassive person. figuratively
"...it is clear that judges are no longer required to be as passive as they once were; to be what I call sphinx judges. We now not only accept that a judge may intervene in the adversarial debate, but also believe that it is sometimes essential for him to do so for justice in fact to be done."
- 5 (Greek mythology) a riddling winged monster with a woman's head and breast on a lion's body; daughter of Typhon wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), formerly classified as a baboon, and called sphinx baboon. dated
- 7 an inscrutable person who keeps their thoughts and intentions secret wordnet
- 8 A sphinx moth.
- 9 A sphincter. euphemistic, rare
"Constance said boastfully, ‘My sphinxes are strong and in good repair. I order you to come.’"
- 1 To decorate with sphinxes. transitive
"a marble sphinxed chimney-piece"
- 2 To adopt the posture of the Sphinx. intransitive, transitive
"A hot lion with a very bloated stomach … will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly."
- 3 To be inscrutable, often through silence. intransitive, transitive
"The sphinxèd riddle of the Universe, Nature's unsolved enigma, who may prove?"
- 4 To behave in a manner characteristic of the Sphinx. intransitive
"Perhaps Nature is sphinxing us on purpose. Whatever her objects may be, perhaps she gets her work done better when she appeals to our gambling instincts. If you knew for certain exactly how your marriage was going to turn out[…]"
Etymology
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”).
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”).
From Middle English Spynx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “bind tightly, to strangle”). The appurtenance of Egyptian Szp:p-A53 (šzp, “image, statue, sphinx”) or Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “living image”) remains unclear.
From Middle English Spynx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “bind tightly, to strangle”). The appurtenance of Egyptian Szp:p-A53 (šzp, “image, statue, sphinx”) or Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “living image”) remains unclear.
See also for "sphinx"
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Unscramble this word: sphinx