rhizoverbBeta
DictionarysphinxMythical creature
noun / proper noun

sphinx

SFINKS/sfɪŋks/

A mythical creature combining a human head and lion's body.

The sphinx in the painting has a human head and a lion's body.

A single Greek mythological sphinx shown in three-quarter view, with an adult woman's human head seamlessly joined to a reclining lion's body.
Etymology
sphinxGreekthe mythical Sphinx

Greek Sphinx named the monster that challenged travelers with riddles. Its name is said to mean “the strangler,” from a verb meaning “to squeeze, bind,” though this derivation is not presented as certain.

In context

National Geographic23:48
The Great Sphinx is a human-lion hybrid.
What Archaeologists Discovered in Ancient Egypt | Lost Treasures of Egypt MEGA Episode | Nat Geo

More examples

  • In the Greek myth, the Sphinx challenges travelers with a riddle.
  • Visitors admire the massive stone Sphinx near the pyramids at Giza.
  • Two carved sphinxes flank the temple entrance.

Forms

sphinx · sphinxes · sphinges