Definition of Sphnx
Sphinx, a fabled animal, an invention of the ancient Egyptians, with
the body and claws of a lioness, and the head of a woman, or of a ram, or
of a goat, all types or representations of the king, effigies of which
are frequently placed before temples on each side of the approach; the
most famous of the sphinxes was the one which waylaid travellers and
tormented them with a riddle, which if they could not answer she devoured
them, but which Oedipus answered, whereupon she threw herself into the
sea. "Such a sphinx," as we are told in "Past and Present," "is this life
of ours, to all men and nations. Nature, like the Sphinx, is of womanly
celestial loveliness and tenderness, the face and bosom of a goddess, but
ending in the claws and the body of a lioness ... is a heavenly bride and
conquest to the wise and brave, to them who can discern her behests and
do them; a destroying fiend to them who cannot. Answer her
riddle—Knowest thou the meaning of to-day?—it is well with thee. Answer
it not; the solution for thee is a thing of teeth and claws."
- Wikipedia
Sphinx (?), n. [L., from Gr.
sfi`gx, usually derived from sfi`ggein to bind
tight or together, as if the Throttler.] 1.
(a) In Egyptian art, an image of granite or
porphyry, having a human head, or the head of a ram or of a hawk, upon
the wingless body of a lion.
The awful ruins of the days of old . . .
Or jasper tomb, or mutilated sphinx.
Shelley.
(b) On Greek art and mythology, a she-monster,
usually represented as having the winged body of a lion, and the face
and breast of a young woman. The most famous Grecian sphinx,
that of Thebes in Bœotia, is said to have proposed a riddle to
the Thebans, and killed those who were unable to guess it. The enigma
was solved by Œdipus, whereupon the sphinx slew herself. "Subtle
as sphinx." Shak.
2. Hence: A person of enigmatical character
and purposes, especially in politics and diplomacy.
3. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous
species of large moths of the family Sphingidæ; -- called
also hawk moth.
&fist; The larva is a stout naked caterpillar which, when at rest,
often assumes a position suggesting the Egyptian sphinx, whence the
name.
4. (Zoöl.) The Guinea, or sphinx,
baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx).
Sphinx baboon (Zoöl.), a large
West African baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx), often kept in
menageries. -- Sphinx moth. (Zoöl.)
Same as Sphinx, 3.
Sphinx (?), n. [L., from Gr.
sfi`gx, usually derived from sfi`ggein to bind
tight or together, as if the Throttler.] 1.
(a) In Egyptian art, an image of granite or
porphyry, having a human head, or the head of a ram or of a hawk, upon
the wingless body of a lion.
The awful ruins of the days of old . . .
Or jasper tomb, or mutilated sphinx.
Shelley.
(b) On Greek art and mythology, a she-monster,
usually represented as having the winged body of a lion, and the face
and breast of a young woman. The most famous Grecian sphinx,
that of Thebes in Bœotia, is said to have proposed a riddle to
the Thebans, and killed those who were unable to guess it. The enigma
was solved by Œdipus, whereupon the sphinx slew herself. "Subtle
as sphinx." Shak.
2. Hence: A person of enigmatical character
and purposes, especially in politics and diplomacy.
3. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous
species of large moths of the family Sphingidæ; -- called
also hawk moth.
&fist; The larva is a stout naked caterpillar which, when at rest,
often assumes a position suggesting the Egyptian sphinx, whence the
name.
4. (Zoöl.) The Guinea, or sphinx,
baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx).
Sphinx baboon (Zoöl.), a large
West African baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx), often kept in
menageries. -- Sphinx moth. (Zoöl.)
Same as Sphinx, 3.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
- a mythological guardian with the head of a human and the body of a lion (and/or other animal)
- Usually with "The" or "Great", the large monument in Egypt resting on the plane with the Great Pyramids
Latin
- the Sphinx
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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The correct Spelling of this word is: Sphinx
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