Harpy

[ hahr-pee ]
See synonyms for Harpy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural Har·pies.
  1. Classical Mythology. a ravenous, filthy monster having a woman's head and a bird's body.

  2. (lowercase) a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; shrew.

  1. (lowercase) a greedy, predatory person.

Origin of Harpy

1
<Latin Harpȳia, singular of Harpȳiae<Greek Hárpȳiai (plural), literally, snatchers, akin to harpázein to snatch away

Other words from Harpy

  • harp·y·like, adjective

Words Nearby Harpy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Harpy in a sentence

  • She turned upon the intruder with a curse, but Azalea had been right in believing that gold would loosen the old Harpy's tongue.

    They Looked and Loved | Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller
  • A feather duster was stuck in for a tail, and his woolly head gave him the uncanny look of a black Harpy.

    Lazarre | Mary Hartwell Catherwood
  • There was the whole crew of the Harpy sloop, taken off here, treated in that way—that I know of to a certainty.

    True Blue | W.H.G. Kingston
  • And the little girl struck and scratched and made a curdled face and echoed, “Harpy, your own self!”

    The Cup of Fury | Rupert Hughes
  • "That Harpy hopes to fleece us," said Dalrymple, slipping his arm through mine and drawing me towards the roulette table.

    In the Days of My Youth | Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for harpy (1 of 2)

harpy

/ (ˈhɑːpɪ) /


nounplural -pies
  1. a cruel grasping woman

Origin of harpy

1
C16: from Latin Harpyia, from Greek Harpuiai the Harpies, literally: snatchers, from harpazein to seize

British Dictionary definitions for Harpy (2 of 2)

Harpy

/ (ˈhɑːpɪ) /


nounplural -pies
  1. Greek myth a ravenous creature with a woman's head and trunk and a bird's wings and claws

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012