sphinx

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsfɪŋks/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English Spynx, borrowed from Latin Sphinx,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} said to mean “the strangler”, a back-formation from sphíngein “to squeeze, bind”,^[3][4][6] with reference to the monster that strangled those who could not answer its riddle.^[3][4] It is related to sphincter.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The monster of Greek mythology with a woman's head and a winged lion's body (c. 1421 in Barnhart; 1420–22 in the OED).^[3][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The Sphinx waylaid travellers near Thebes and devoured those who could not answer her riddle, until Oedipus solved it.^[4][6] The word was applied from the 1570s to the Egyptian figures with a lion's body and a human or animal head,^[4][7] and from 1613 specifically to the colossal statue near the pyramids of Giza.^[7][4] From about 1600 a sphinx was also a person or thing of mysterious nature.^[7][4] The name is given to sphinx moths (1753) and once to a kind of baboon.^[7][1]

Timeline

• c. 1421 – the Greek mythical monster.^[3][7]
• 1579–80 – an Egyptian sphinx figure.^[7][3]
• c. 1600 – a mysterious person or thing.^[7][4]
• 1613 – the Great Sphinx of Giza.^[7]
• 1753 – a sphinx moth.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) A winged monster with a woman's head and a lion's body that killed those who could not answer its riddle.
2. In ancient Egypt, a figure of a reclining lion with the head of a man, ram or hawk; especially the great statue near the pyramids of Giza.
3. A mysterious or enigmatic person.
4. A sphinx moth.

Word family

• sphinx moth

Related words

• sphincter
• riddle
• enigma
• griffin

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press