lamia
Americannoun
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Classical Mythology. one of a class of fabulous monsters, commonly represented with the head and breast of a woman and the body of a serpent, said to allure youths and children in order to suck their blood.
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a vampire; a female demon.
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(initial capital letter, italics) a narrative poem (1819) by John Keats.
noun
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classical myth one of a class of female monsters depicted with a snake's body and a woman's head and breasts
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a vampire or sorceress
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lamia
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek lámia a female man-eater
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I know nothing about it, my son," replied the lamia; "but go ask my second sister."
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 13 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
As he journeyed, a lamia presented herself before him, and said, "I have a great desire to eat thee, but thou also excitest pity, and so I leave thee thy life."
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 13 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
The lamia ran as fast as she could after them, to catch them up, and when she came to a field where people were working she asked them: 'Have you seen anyone pass this way?'
From The Grey Fairy Book by Lang, Andrew
The Seventy, in Isaiah, translate the Hebrew lilith by lamia.
From The Phantom World or, The philosophy of spirits, apparitions, &c, &c. by Christmas, Henry
Hagge, doubtless the word of Shakspeare, also may be found in Rider, answering to the Latin lamia, fascinatrix, oculo maligna mulier.
From Notes and Queries, Number 84, June 7, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various
The word lamiae signified, walking spirits, which, according to the vulgar notion, devoured men; this makes the spirit of the sarcasm against the tax-gatherers.
From The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 05 Miscellaneous Pieces by Johnson, Samuel
The unicorn takes his place in the zoo which never existed as a sharp contrast to harpies, gorgons, sea serpents, lamias, werewolves, dragons.
From Time Magazine Archive
She thought with terror of this solitary wandering and of the horrible lamias, but her will was firm as her trust in Providence.
From Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales by Baltzell, W. J. (Winton James)
There, on one of the broadest tombstones she saw sitting a circle of lamias.
From Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales by Baltzell, W. J. (Winton James)
But Nicander the Colophonian, in his essay on Dialects, says that the carcharias is also called the lamias and the squill.
From The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athen?us by Athen?us
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
