lamia
pronunciation
How to pronounce lamia in British English:
UK ['leɪmɪə]
How to pronounce lamia in American English:
US ['leɪmɪr]
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- Noun:
- (folklore) a corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living
Word Origin
- lamia (n.)
- late 14c., from Latin lamia, from Greek lamia "female vampire," literally "swallower, lecher," from laimos "throat, gullet." Probably cognate with Latin lemures "spirits of the dead" (see lemur). Used in early translations of the Bible for screech owls and sea monsters. Sometimes also, apparently, mermaids. Also kynde erreþ in som beestes wondirliche j-schape, as it fareþ in a beest þat hatte lamia, þat haþ an heed as a mayde & body as a grym fissche[;] whan þat best lamya may fynde ony man, first a flatereþ wiþ hym with a wommannes face and makeþ hym ligge by here while he may dure, & whanne he may noferþere suffice to here lecherye þanne he rendeþ hym and sleþ and eteþ hym. [John of Trevisa, translation of Bartholomew de Glanville's "De proprietatibus rerum," 1398]
Example
- 1. Last I heard , she was somewhere iiving in lamia .
- 2. And when we used to iive in lamia .
- 3. Lamia tried very hard to concentrate only on her own reflection in the polished glass .
- 4. Syria is a harder sell . But on july 1st lamia assi , the tourism minister , suggested launching a promotion campaign next year to remind the world of her country 's charms ; she called for more co-operation with foreign tour companies .
- 5. Snakes , lovers , and moralists : a comparative look at the lamia legends of the west , the white snake legends of china , and the orthodox and gnostic interpretations of genesis .