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• griffin
  griffin

  noun

  a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
• Griffin
  Griffin

  noun

  a city in W Georgia.

griffin

¹ American  

[grif-in] / ˈgrɪf ɪn /

Also griffon,

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

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griffin ² American  

[grif-in] / ˈgrɪf ɪn /

noun

1. (in India and the East) a newcomer, especially a white person from a Western country.

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Griffin ³ American  

[grif-in] / ˈgrɪf ɪn /

noun

1. a city in W Georgia.

2. a male given name.

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griffin ¹ British  

/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /

noun

1. a winged monster with an eagle-like head and the body of a lion

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griffin ² British  

/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /

noun

1. a newcomer to the Orient, esp one from W Europe

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Other Word Forms

• griffinage
  noun
• griffinhood
  noun
• griffinism
  noun
• griffinesque
  adjective
• griffinish
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of griffin¹

1300–50; Middle English griffoun < Middle French grifon < Latin grȳphus < Greek grȳp- (stem of grȳ́ps ) “curled, curved, having a hooked nose”

Origin of griffin²

First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain

Explanation

If your little brother wants a pet griffin, you should probably try to talk him out of it. A griffin is a flying, eagle-headed lion with sharp talons. (Luckily for you, griffins aren't real.) The mythical griffin — also spelled gryphon or griffon — dates as far back as 3000 BCE. Some griffins have the front talons of an eagle, like the griffins that appear on shields or coats-of-arms — they were often used this way, since the combination of lion and eagle was seen as being especially brave and strong. Griffins appear in literature ranging from Rumi's ancient Persian poetry to the Harry Potter books. The word's Greek root is gryps, "curved."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

griffin Griffin

On the left arm, the mythical griffin creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle appears to be fighting with a stag.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025

Renaissance and Medieval pieces, and the “quality camp” or “fantasy furniture” he favored — weird and whimsical pieces embellished with mythical creatures; chairs sprouting antlers, torcheres bedecked with gargoyles, commodes atop griffin feet.

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

You can’t have a lot of body horror in a kid’s movie, but you can have a topiary griffin who torrentially evacuates dead leaves across the backyard in a beautiful, disgusting arc.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2018

At first she believed it to be some kind of mythical creature, a California version of a minotaur or a griffin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2018

So it was that Christopher found himself walking up the hill, the griffin in his arms.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Across media, Griffin believes Lynch’s strangeness ultimately serves a humane purpose: It returns viewers to the difficult, daunting, delicious business of being an imperfect person in an imperfect world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

That conviction raised the stakes as Griffin and Day assembled their first exhibition without Lynch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

When it was time to toast the newlyweds, one speaker thanked Citadel CEO Ken Griffin for making it all possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

"It's not just the examination. It might be reading files of hospital notes or talking to clinicians," says Dr Kathryn Griffin, an NHS pathologist in Leeds.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

The gulls beat up into the air, speckling the shore with their shadows; Sheriff Elwell watched them, and when he turned back, he saw that Reverend Griffin had not moved.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

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