harpy

Meaning

  1. 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.
  2. A shrewish woman.
  3. One who is rapacious or ravenous; an extortioner.
  4. The European moor buzzard or marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus).
  5. A large and powerful double-crested, short-winged American eagle (Harpia harpyja).

Frequency

32k
Hyphenated as
har‧py
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈhɑɹpi/
Etymology

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

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