Jump To:

• 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.

---

griffin ² American  

[grif-in] / ˈgrɪf ɪn /

noun

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

---

Griffin ³ American  

[grif-in] / ˈgrɪf ɪn /

noun

1. a city in W Georgia.

2. a male given name.

---

griffin ¹ British  

/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /

noun

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

---

griffin ² British  

/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /

noun

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

---

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

For every lion there’s a griffin — a lion’s body fused with an eagle’s head, wings and sometimes talons — and for every pelican, a fire-breathing dragon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2019

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

She spoke to the griffin, her face buried in the feathers atop his head.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

They surpassed $100 million in opening day payroll for the first time in franchise history and called up baseball’s top prospect, shortstop Konnor Griffin, a week into the season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“You’re trying to create that live experience, and more specifically, a communal experience for the audience watching at home,” says Griffin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

“Editors who work in multicam, more so than any other industry, are part of the production process inherently,” says Griffin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Griffin added it was sad to see closures for a second summer running, but she stopped short of blaming maintenance issues alone, pointing to boaters who had hit gates or left lock paddles open.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Most impressive of all was the Griffin Building.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• cat
• cougar
• wildcat