sphinx

A figure in Egyptian myth having the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk.

A winged creature having the head of a woman and the body of a lion, noted for killing those who could not answer its riddle.

A puzzling or mysterious person.

In Greek myth, a female monster, said to have proposed a riddle to the Thebans who passed her as she sat on a rock by the roadside, and to have killed all who were not able to guess it.

In Egyptian antiquity, a figure somewhat similar in composition to the Greek, having the body of a lion (never winged), and a male human head or an animal head.

In heraldry, a creature with a lion’s body and a woman’s head, but not necessarily like any ancient original. It is assumed to be winged; when not winged, it should be blazoned “sans wings.”

An enigmatic or sphinx-like person; one who talks puzzlingly, or is inscrutable in disposition or character; one whom it is hard to understand.

In entomology: