criosphinx
Aug. 24th, 2015 07:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordcriosphinx (KRAY-uh-sfingks) - n., a sphinx with the head of a ram.
Instead of a human head -- either form on the body of a lion, of course. Plural is either criosphinxes or criosphinges. The word is from Greek, coined by Herodotus to describe the ram-headed sphinx figures representing the Egyptian god Amon in Thebes. Krīos is ancient Greek for ram, in case you're wondering -- the origin of sphinx itself is uncertain -- possibly from sphíngein, to hold tight (the most common suggestion), or Egyptian shesepankh, living image, meaning a statue carved from living rock.
---L.
Instead of a human head -- either form on the body of a lion, of course. Plural is either criosphinxes or criosphinges. The word is from Greek, coined by Herodotus to describe the ram-headed sphinx figures representing the Egyptian god Amon in Thebes. Krīos is ancient Greek for ram, in case you're wondering -- the origin of sphinx itself is uncertain -- possibly from sphíngein, to hold tight (the most common suggestion), or Egyptian shesepankh, living image, meaning a statue carved from living rock.
---L.
