lamia

[ ley-mee-uh ]

/ ˈleɪ mi ə /

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noun, plural la·mi·as, la·mi·ae [ley-mee-ee] /ˈleɪ miˌi/ for 1, 2.

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.

a vampire; a female demon.

(initial capital letter, italics) a narrative poem (1819) by John Keats.

Words related to lamia

magician, enchanter, hag, conjurer, sorceress, enchantress, sorcerer, necromancer, occultist

Words nearby lamia

lamentations, lamented, lamerie, lamesa, lamestream, lamia, lamina, lamina fusca sclerae, lamina of lens, lamina of vertebral arch, lamina propria mucosae

Origin of lamia

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek lámia a female man-eater

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lamia

“The uprising has been a big challenge for us…really, the situation is awful,” said Lamia Assem, director of marketing.
Winston Churchill’s Egyptian Getaway: The Old Cataract Hotel|Lauren Bohn|December 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For the present he determined not to publish Lamia, Isabella, and the other poems written since Endymion.
Keats|Sidney Colvin
Lamia was our goal, a city where one finds comfortable quarters and good eating.
Vacation days in Greece|Rufus B. Richardson
When the lamia was gone away, Letiko called out: 'Little hares!
The Grey Fairy Book|Various

These were a kind of Medusa, or Lamia, supposed to be the most terrible and cruel of all the orders of the Dives.
Vathek|William Beckford
We could tear enough armor off the Lamia to shield any kind of a reaction plant.
Space Viking|Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for lamia

lamia

/ (ˈleɪmɪə) /

noun plural -mias or -miae (-mɪˌiː)

classical myth one of a class of female monsters depicted with a snake's body and a woman's head and breasts

a vampire or sorceress

Word Origin for lamia

C14: via Latin from Greek Lamia

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