Harpy

American  

[hahr-pee] / ˈhɑr pi /

noun

plural

Harpies

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.

3. (lowercase) a greedy, predatory person.

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Harpy ¹ British  

/ ˈhɑːpɪ /

noun

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

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harpy ² British  

/ ˈhɑːpɪ /

noun

1. a cruel grasping woman

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Other Word Forms

• harpylike adjective

Etymology

Origin of Harpy

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

Example Sentences

Its radar-killing Harpy can hover over anti-aircraft radar for up to nine hours waiting for them to power up.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2023

Ms. Sablone, 35, lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with her girlfriend, Josephine Heilpern, a ceramist, and their dog, Harpy.

From New York Times • Sep. 24, 2021

The Harpy looks like a cross between a missile and a fixed-wing drone, and is fired from the ground into a target area where it can linger for up to nine hours.

From The Verge • Jun. 3, 2021

Harpy birthday: On Dec. 8, wish it on Ann Coulter.

From Washington Post • Jul. 26, 2018

Outside the city sat the Yunkai’i with their sellswords and their allies; inside were the Sons of the Harpy.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin