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harpy

noun
/ˈhɑɹpi/US/ˈhɑːpi/UK

Etymology

Ultimately from Middle French harpie, from Latin harpyia, from Ancient Greek ἅρπυιᾰ (hárpuiă, literally “snatcher”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch, seize”). Compare rapacious. Middle English had arpie.

  1. derived from ἅρπυιᾰ
  2. derived from harpyia
  3. derived from harpie

Definitions

  1. A mythological creature generally depicted as a bird-of-prey with the head of a maiden, a…

    A mythological creature generally depicted as a bird-of-prey with the head of a maiden, a face pale with hunger and long claws on her hands personifying the destructive power of storm winds.

    • Both table and provisions vanish'd quite, With sound of harpies' wings and talons heard.

  2. A shrewish woman.

    • But her most subtle wiles proved ineffectual in ridding her, even for a moment, of her harpy jailer[…]
    • […] Ed Miliband has yet to come up with a definition of “the squeezed middle” that excludes anyone, but you can bet your bottom dollar he has these laptop-wielding harpies in mind.

  3. One who is rapacious or ravenous

    One who is rapacious or ravenous; an extortioner.

    • c. 1772, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs. Bunbury The harpies about me all pocket the pool.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. Any of a number of eagle-like birds of prey of the subfamily Harpiinae, especially the…

      Any of a number of eagle-like birds of prey of the subfamily Harpiinae, especially the species Harpia harpyja.

    2. The European moor buzzard or marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus).

The neighborhood

Derived

harpy bat, harpy eagle, harpy fly, harpyish, harpylike

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for harpy. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA