Definition of: sphinx

(sfingks) noun plural sphinx·es or sphin·ges (sfin′jēz)
1. In Egyptian mythology, a wingless monster with a lion's body and the head of a man (androsphinx, or simply sphinx), or of a ram (criosphinx), or of a hawk (hieracosphinx); also, any monumental representation of such a creature.
2. In Greek mythology, a winged monster with a woman's head and breasts and a lion's body, that destroyed those unable to guess her riddle. See OEDIPUS.
3. A mysterious or enigmatical person.
4. A large, stout–bodied, swift–flying moth.
—the Sphinx The colossal androsphinx at Gizeh, having the body of a couchant lion, representing Harmachis, the Egyptian god of the morning, and dating to the IV dynasty. [<L <Gk. sphinx <sphingein close, strangle]
SPHINX (def. 2)