hippogriff

noun

hip·​po·​griff ˈhi-pə-ˌgrif How to pronounce hippogriff (audio)
: a legendary animal having the foreparts of a griffin and the body of a horse

Examples of hippogriff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Dreaming has two gates — one of horn and one of ivory, built from the bones of ancient gods that picked a fight with Dream eons ago — and is usually guarded by three gatekeepers: a wyvern, a griffin, and a hippogriff. Christian Holub, EW.com, 26 July 2022 In our hippogriff, the muscles of the back drive the upstroke, and the muscles of the chest power the downstroke, just as in living bats and long-extinct pterosaurs. Michael B. Habib, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2021 Like these pterosaurs, our hippogriff (really a hippoptero) can use its wings as leaping limbs to execute takeoff. Michael B. Habib, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2021 There are even flying machines, with all their attending complications; a few minutes into Sunday’s performance, when a hippogriff failed to appear on cue, tenor Zachary Wilder and soprano Emoke Baráth improvised to amuse the audience. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2019 But the resulting cinematic hippogriff is still extremely enjoyable because: a) people, cars, and things get eensy-weensy or ginormous in the middle of hectic yet balletic action sequences; and b) Paul Rudd. Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, 4 July 2018 But Rowling's intentions are surely much different than Hagrid's, who lived and entertained guests (and injured hippogriffs) in his little hut. Jamie Wiebe, House Beautiful, 17 Oct. 2014 Retinol is like the hippogriff of skin care. Respect it, and the world (of great skin) is your oyster. Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hippogriff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French hippogriffe, from Italian ippogrifo, from ippo- (from Greek hippos horse) + grifo griffin, from Latin gryphus

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hippogriff was in 1612

Dictionary Entries Near hippogriff

Cite this Entry

“Hippogriff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hippogriff. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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