sphinx

noun
sphinx \ ˈsfiŋ(k)s \
15th century{ds||1|a|}
  • a winged female monster in Greek mythology having a woman's head and a lion's body and noted for killing anyone unable to answer its riddle
  • an enigmatic or mysterious person
  • an ancient Egyptian image in the form of a recumbent lion having a man's head, a ram's head, or a hawk's head

hawk moth

noun
hawk moth \ ˈhȯk-ˌmȯth \
1785
  • any of a family (Sphingidae) of large, stout-bodied, swift-flying moths that are sometimes active during the day and have long, narrow, more or less pointed forewings, small hind wings, and a very long proboscis which at rest is kept coiled and are typically capable of hovering while feeding on the nectar of flowers —called also sphinx moth

sphinx moth

noun
sphinx moth \
1839
  • hawk moth
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