Etymologically
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griffin

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡrɪf.ɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French grifon (“a bird of prey; the fabulous bird”),[2][3][4] from Late Latin gryphus,[2][4][5] a misspelling of grȳps (“griffin”),[2] from Ancient Greek γρύψ (grúps, “griffin”),[2][4][5] literally curved or hook-nosed,[2] from γρυπός (grupós, “curved, hook-nosed”).[5][6] The beast was named for its hooked beak.[2] Klein suggested a Semitic source through the Hittites, comparing cherub.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a surname about 1200;[2] the fabulous creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion is in the OED from the 14th century.[7][4]

Semantic evolution

A representation of the beast, as in heraldry, is also from the 14th century,[7] and the word meant a vulture from 1382,[7] now the griffon vulture.[7] A grim or watchful guardian is from 1824.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – as a surname.[2]
  • 14th century – the fabulous beast.[7]
  • 1382 – a vulture.[7]
  • 1824 – a fierce guardian.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A fabulous winged beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Word family

  • griffinesque
  • griffinage
  • griffinish
  • hippogriff

Usage notes

Another griffin, of unknown origin according to Collins, meant a European newly arrived in India, from 1793,[7][2][6] probably from the idea of a strange hybrid animal;[2] in mid-19th-century Louisiana it meant a person of mixed race.[2] In Dorset dialect a griffin was a variety of apple.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)