vampire

[ vam-pahyuhr ]

noun

1. a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.
2. (in Eastern European folklore) a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living, until it is exhumed and impaled or burned.
3. a person who preys ruthlessly upon others; extortionist.
4. a woman who unscrupulously exploits, ruins, or degrades the men she seduces.
5. an actress noted for her roles as an unscrupulous seductress:

   the vampires of the silent movies.

vampire

/ væmˈpɪrɪk; ˈvæmpaɪə /

noun

1. (in European folklore) a corpse that rises nightly from its grave to drink the blood of the living
2. See vampire bat
   See vampire bat
3. a person who preys mercilessly upon others, such as a blackmailer
4. See vamp
   See vamp 1
5. theatre a trapdoor on a stage

Derived Forms

• vampiric, adjective

Other Words From

• vam·pir·ic [vam-, pir, -ik], vam·pir·ish [vam, -pahy, uh, r-ish], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vampire¹

First recorded in 1725–35; from French or directly from German Vampir, from Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr, alteration of earlier upir (by confusion with doublets such as vȁzdūh, ȕzdūh “air” (from Slavic vŭ- ), and with intrusive nasal, as in dùbrava, dumbrȁva “grove”); akin to Czech upír, Polish upiór, Old Russian upyrĭ, upirĭ ( Russian upýrʾ ), from unattested Slavic u-pirĭ or ǫ-pirĭ, probably a compound noun formed with unattested root per- “fly, rush” (literal meaning variously interpreted)

Word History and Origins

Origin of vampire¹

C18: from French, from German Vampir, from Magyar; perhaps related to Turkish uber witch, Russian upyr vampire

Example Sentences

What We Do in the Shadows is basically just that, but with vampires.

From Time

She describes food-sharing patterns in hunter-gatherer societies, for instance, then in the same paragraph says that “this same dynamic exists among vampire bats.”

From Washington Post

My other horror recommendation is “Let the Right One In,” the vampire novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

From Washington Post

To parasitic-plant specialist Chris Thorogood, “They’re vampire plants.”

From Science News For Students

The classic movie still offers some chills and established many of the visual motifs seen in contemporary vampire movies.

From Washington Blade

Mistletoe is basically a vampire—but one of those an anti-hero type vampires.

From The Daily Beast

The vampire at the heart of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night neither sparkles nor sleeps in coffins.

From The Daily Beast

And someone named something like, “Vampire Man Randy,” commented on it and wrote, “sex feet.”

From The Daily Beast

Next door in Romania, a historical figure nicknamed Vlad the Impaler inspired the first mainstream depiction of a vampire.

From The Daily Beast

He is believed to have been considered a vampire in the mid-19th century and decapitated after his death.

From The Daily Beast

Even the air has its strange denizens in the guise of huge beetles and vampire-winged flying foxes.

From Project Gutenberg

Did you ever know a man come out to do either in a chariot and pair, you ridiculous old vampire?

From Project Gutenberg

And as the narrowing process progressed, she said, the exhausting or vampire quality grew and grew.

From Project Gutenberg

To gently destroy, sucking the vitality like a vampire and fanning the victim to dullness with its wings.

From Project Gutenberg

The two bones are not often found in so lateral a position, and the vampire wings are clumsy in the extreme.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• demon
• devil
• phantom
• shadow
• soul
• specter
• vision