lamia Hear it!

lamia definition

la·mia (mē ə)

noun

  1. Class. Myth. any of a class of monsters, half woman and half serpent, supposed to lure people, esp. children, in order to suck their blood
  2. a vampire; female demon; sorceress

Etymology: ME lamya < L lamia < Gr; akin to lamos, abyss < IE base *lem-, with gaping mouth > L lemures, ghost (see lemur), Welsh llef, voice

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.