sphinx
To decorate with sphinxesTo decorate with sphinxes.
» The Sphinx began to walk around him.
Meaning
4 senses(transitive)To decorate with sphinxes.
a marble sphinxed chimney-piece
(intransitive, transitive)To adopt the posture of the Sphinx.
A hot lion with a very bloated stomach … will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly.
Several animals maintained either a crouched … or a sphinxing posture (abdomen on the floor)
(intransitive, transitive)To be inscrutable, often through silence.
(intransitive)To behave in a manner characteristic of the Sphinx.
Examples
13 sentencesThe Sphinx began to walk around him.
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz.
ruГалкам нравится мой большой кварцевый сфинкс. — Ooneykcall
What is a sphinx?
What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?
This terrible monster was the Sphinx.
deDieses schreckliche Monster war die Sphinx. — Manfredo
Origin
From Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (SphínFrom Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps either from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “to squeeze, to strangle”) (whence also sphincter), of Pre-Greek origin, or from Egyptian Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “divine image”, literally “living image”).
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Forms
sphinxes, sphinxing, sphinxed, sphinxedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle