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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

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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

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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

Hart said the debate over the griffin missed the bigger picture.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2021

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

He was walking up the hill, as fast as the griffin would allow him to go, which was not fast.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

"The neural activity that we measure at the scalp is just not as distinct in autistic children," says first author Jason Griffin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at University of Houston.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

When the officers approach Nevada’s mother, Martasia Griffin, she says she is upset because she saw parents huddled together talking about her son.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Hedge funder Ken Griffin, who owns market maker Citadel Securities, appeared to echo that comment recently — saying that while AI stocks are probably in a bubble, they are still worth holding on to.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Police identified the gunman as Griffin J John II - a former pupil who had attended special education classes at the school.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

She had little contact with the father, as he left the house early and his office window was one of those in the Griffin that stayed lit the latest.

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

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