Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Sphinx |
SphinxNoun1. An inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret. 2. (Greek mythology) a riddling winged monster with a woman's head and breast on a lion's body; daughter of Typhon. 3. One of a number of large stone statues with the body of a lion and the head of a man that were built by the ancient Egyptians. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "sphinx" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Etymology: Sphinx \Sphinx\, noun. [Latin expression, from the Greek expression sfi`gx, usually derived from sfi`ggein to bind tight or together, as if the Throttler.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Sphinx (The Egyptian). Half a woman and half a lion, said to symbolise the "rising of the Nile while the sun is in Leo and Virgo." This "saying" must be taken for what it is worth. Sphinx. Lord Bacon's ingenious resolution of this fable is a fair specimen of what some persons call "spiritualising" incidents and parables. He says that the whole represents "science," which is regarded by the ignorant as "a monster." As the figure of the sphinx is heterogeneous, so the subjects of science "are very various." The female face "denotes volubility of speech;" her wings show that "knowledge like light is rapidly diffused;" her hooked talons remind us of "the arguments of science which enter the mind and lay hold of it." She is placed on a crag overlooking the city, for "all science is placed on an eminence which is hard to climb." If the riddles of the sphinx brought disaster, so the riddles of science "perplex and harass the mind." You are a perfect sphinx - You speak in riddles. You are nothing better than a sphinx - You speak so obscurely that I cannot understand you. The sphinx was a sea-monster that proposed a riddle to the Thebans, and murdered all who could not guess it. (Edipus solved it, and the sphinx put herself to death. The riddle was this- What goes on four feet, on two feet, and three, But the more feet it goes on the weaker it be?" Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a large sculpture on the west bank of the Nile River. The Great Sphinx is not a true sphinx; it is the head of King Chephren with a crouching body. It was built in the Fourth Dynasty (2723 BCE-2563 BCE) and it measures 157 feet long, 20 feet wide and 66 feet high.
The Great Sphinx at Giza, EgyptSee also: Sphinx, Great Pyramid of Giza
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Great Sphinx of Giza."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Sphinx (sometimes spelled Sphynx) is an ancient Egyptian statue of a male lion with a human head. Some sphinxes have wings. Most of them referred to simply as The Sphinx, represented a king or pharaoh in his aspect as a sun-god.
The most famous is the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is on the west bank of the Nile River. The Great Sphinx is not a true sphinx; it is the head of King Chephren with a crouching body. It was built in the Fourth Dynasty (2723 BCE-2563 BCE)
See also:
- Giza
Avenue of Sphinxes at Karnak, Egypt
In Assyria, sphinxes guarded the entrances to temples.
In Greek mythology, there was one Sphinx. She was a demon of destruction and bad luck, a daughter of Typhon and Echidna. She was a winged lion with a woman's head; or she was a woman with the paws, claws and breasts of a lion, a snake tail and bird wings. She sat outside Thebes and asked all passersby a riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled anyone who couldn't answer. Oedipus solved the riddle: man, crawls on all fours as a baby then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. The Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died.
The word "sphinx" comes from the Greek Σφιγξ, Sphinx, apparently from the verb σφιγγω, sphingo, meaning "to strangle".
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sphinx."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
SPHINX | English | Survival Probability Hazard in a Nuclear Exchange | Nuclear Energy & Physics |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Equivocalness | Sphinx, Delphic oracle. |
Oracle | Noun: oracle; prophet, prophesier, seer, soothsayer, augur, fortune teller, crystal gazer, witch, geomancer, aruspex; aruspice, haruspice; haruspex; astrologer, star gazer; Sibyl; Python, Pythoness; Pythia; Pythian oracle, Delphian oracle; Monitor, Sphinx, Tiresias, Cassandra, Sibylline leaves; Zadkiel, Old Moore; sorcerer; interpreter. |
Secret | Enigma, riddle, puzzle, nut to crack, conundrum, charade, rebus, logogriph; monogram, anagram; Sphinx; crux criticorum. |
Unconformity | Phoenix, chimera, hydra, sphinx, minotaur; griffin, griffon; centaur; saggittary; kraken, wyvern, roc, dragon, sea serpent; mermaid, merman, merfolk; unicorn; Cyclops, "men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders"; teratology. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Sphinx |
| English words defined with "sphinx": Androsphinx ♦ Criosphinx, crumble ♦ Death's-head moth ♦ El Giza ♦ fall apart ♦ Giza ♦ Hog caterpillar ♦ Papion, potato worm ♦ sphingine, Sphinx baboon, sphinx moth ♦ Typhon. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "sphinx": Reading ♦ Shields, Standards. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "sphinx": Androsphinx. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Sphinx" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (sphinx), German (sphinx). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It's a Joseph Smith sphinx. (Plan 10 from Outer Space; writing credit: Trent Harris) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Talleyrand ou Le sphinx incompris (1972) Pink Sphinx (1968) Sphinx Jinx (1966) The Sphinx (1933) Madame Sphinx (1918) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Mountain Range including The Sphinx. Credit: Merv Coleman. |  | Sphinx Moth on Rock in high Steens WSA. (WSA 2-85F). Credit: Scott Moore. |
 | Sightseeing via camel at the Sphinx, in Egypt, while Ashville was en route to the Far East via the Suez Canal, July 1922. With him are two of the ship's officers, Lieutenant William B. Young, USN(SC) and Lieutenant Roy W. Hayworth, USN(MC). Credit: NAVY. |  | Cat-like figure, possibly a sphinx, inscribed within a triangle. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Sphinx. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Man in Middle Eastern garments with "Jordan aid" and "U.S. aid" bags before winking sphinx. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | The sphinx. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The Great Sphinx, the marvel of the ages, Egypt. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Looking down from the Great Pyramid upon the Sphinx and the desert, Egypt. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Milmore's Sphinx. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Sphinx" by Igor Beres Commentary: "Photo of the Sphinx ." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Emo Philips | My ex-girlfriend was very sexy. She reminded me of the Sphinx because she was very mysterious and eternal and solid and her nose was shot off by French soldiers. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Yes, the enigma shall say its word, the sphinx shall speak, the problem shall be resolved |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | READING, n. The general body of what one reads. In our country it consists, as a rule, of Indiana novels, short stories in "dialect" and humor in slang. We know by one's reading His learning and breeding; By what draws his laughter We know his Hereafter. Read nothing, laugh never -- The Sphinx was less clever! Jupiter Muke |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Sphinx" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 70.18% of the time. "Sphinx" is used about 57 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 70.18% | 40 | 54,274 |
| Noun (proper) | 24.56% | 14 | 93,893 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 3.51% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 1.75% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 57 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Netherlands | N.V. Koninklijke Sphinx Gustavsberg | USA | Sphinx International Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "sphinx": Cynocephalus sphinx ♦ Cynopterus sphinx ♦ Mandrillus sphinx ♦ papio sphinx ♦ sphinx baboon ♦ sphinx Carolina ♦ sphinx moth ♦ Sphinx or Macrosila quinquemaculata ♦ Sphinx or Phlegethontius Carolina ♦ sphinx quinquemaculata ♦ Tomato sphinx ♦ vine sphinx. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "sphinx": sphinx-head, sphinx-like. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "sphinx"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | sfinks, njeri i pakuptueshëm. (various references) | |
Arabic | إنسان بارع, أبو الهول. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | сфинкс (sphynx). (various references) | |
Chinese | 狮身人面像, 人頭獅身 . (various references) | |
Czech | sfinga. (various references) | |
Farsi | موجودعجیب , مجسمه ابوالهول , مردمرموز. (various references) | |
Finnish | sfinksi. (various references) | |
French | sphinx. (various references) | |
German | Sphinx. (various references) | |
Greek | σφιγξ, σφίγγα (spinx, wasp). (various references) | |
Hungarian | szfinksz. (various references) | |
Italian | sfinge. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | スピンドル油 (souffle, spindle oil, splice, spline, spool, spooler, spoon, spoon-feeding, Sputnik, staple fiber, sub-economizer). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | スフィンクス . (various references) | |
Pig Latin | inxsphay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | esfinge (hawk moths ( celerio lineata, hippotion celerio, pergesa elpenor, phobus achemon ( U. S. A. )). (various references) | |
Russian | сфинкс (sphinges). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | sfinga, zagonetna ličnost. (various references) | |
Spanish | esfinge (hawk moths ( celerio lineata, hippotion celerio, pergesa elpenor, phobus achemon ( U. S. A. )). (various references) | |
Swedish | sfinx. (various references) | |
Turkish | sfenks, gizemli kimse, esrarengiz kimse, anlaşılmaz kimse (enigma). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | сфінкс. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "sphinx": sphinxes, sphinxlike. (additional references) | |
| |
"Sphinx" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: shpinx, sphan, Sphi, sphinc, sphinct, sphings, sphinix, sphinxe, sphiny, sphynx, spinx. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "sphinx" (pronounced sfi"ngks) |
| 5 | -f i" ng k s | finks. |
| 4 | -i" ng k s | blinks, brinks, chinks, drinks, inks, jinks, jinx, kinks, links, Lynx, minks, pinks, rinks, shrinks, sinks, skinks, stinks, thinks, winks. |
| 3 | -ng k s | banks, blanks, bunks, chunks, clunks, cranks, drunks, dunks, flanks, flunks, francs, Franks, funks, Hanks, Hijinks, hunks, hyperlinks, larynx, monks, nasopharynx, phalanx, pharynx, planks, pranks, punks, ranks, shanks, skunks, tanks, thanks, tiddlywinks, trunks, yanks. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "h-i-n-p-s-x" | |
-2 letters: hins, hips, hisn, nips, phis, pins, pish, shin, ship, sinh, snip, spin. | |
-3 letters: hin, hip, his, ins, nip, nix, phi, pin, pis, pix, psi, sin, sip, six, xis. | |
-4 letters: hi, in, is, pi, sh, si, xi. | |
| Words containing the letters "h-i-n-p-s-x" | |
+2 letters: phenixes, sphinxes. | |
+3 letters: phoenixes. | |
+4 letters: externship, phenoxides, saxophonic, sphinxlike, xenophiles. | |
+5 letters: anaphylaxis, cephalexins, externships, saxophonist, xenophobias, xiphisterna, xylophonist. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Company Usage | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Abbreviations | 17. Acronyms 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
