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Glite Dictionary
Sphinx

Sphinx

11 9.1
A creature from Greek myth with a woman's head, wings, and a lion's body that asks riddles
  • noun
  • /sfɪŋks/
  • Literature
translation icon : esfinge
  • To solve a riddle older than the Sphinx... to answer the question, which has plagued us since we crawled from this earth... and stood erect in the sun- is man indeed... a walrus at heart?
  • the riddle of the Sphinx

So here we see a reference to the Sphinx, he who is able to unlock the Riddle of the Sphinx.

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Examples

  • The Sphinx, according to Hakim, is the image of a woman, not the Pharaoh Khafre, as most Egyptologists suggest.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The young man looked at me as if I had uttered the Riddle of the Sphinx.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Well, you know what they say: "The Sphinx knows best."

    Code 46 (2003)

  • The mystery of the sphinx.

    How to Eat Fried Worms (2006)

  • What makes the sphinx the Seventh Wonder?

    The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  • The answer to the riddle of the Sphinx.

    Gods of Egypt (2016)

  • Did the Sphinx give Oedipus a clue?

    The Dreamers (2003)

  • If they could not answer correctly, the Sphinx would devour them.

    Blog text (4)

  • In Greek mythology, the Sphinx is known for posing riddles to travelers.

  • Many stories tell of how the Sphinx challenged Oedipus with a difficult question.

Compounds

sphinx moth
  • US
1 8.4

A large moth that hovers like a hummingbird to feed from flowers

Cynopterus sphinx
  • Specialized
9.9

A bat that eats fruit and lives in South and Southeast Asia

Surface Forms

Sphinx singular
Sphinxes plural

Etymology

Sphinx comes from a Greek verb sphingo that means 'to squeeze' or 'to strangle', which fits the old story of a monster that killed travelers who could not answer its riddle. So a Sphinx became a strong image of danger and mystery, and we now use the word for a person or thing that is very silent or hard to understand.