harpy

Ultimately from Middle French harpie, from Latin harpyia, from Ancient Greek Ἅρπυια (Hárpuia, literally “snatcher”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “I snatch, seize”). Compare rapacious. Middle English had arpie.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹpi/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːpi/

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• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)pi
• Hyphenation: har‧py

harpy (plural harpies)

1. (mythology) A mythological creature generally depicted as a bird-of-prey with the head of maiden, a face pale with hunger and long claws on her hands personifying the destructive power of storm winds.
   • 1671, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:

     Both table and provisions vanish'd quite,
     With sound of harpies' wings and talons heard.

2. (derogatory) A shrewish woman.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:shrew

   • 1927, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Outlaw of Torn‎, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008:

     But her most subtle wiles proved ineffectual in ridding her, even for a moment, of her harpy jailer […]

   • 2011 March 17, Toby Young, “Mumsnet isn't representative of the 'squeezed middle'. It's just a bunch of Guardian-reading, laptop-wielding harpies”, in The Telegraph‎, archived from the original on 2011-03-20:

     […] Ed Miliband has yet to come up with a definition of “the squeezed middle” that excludes anyone, but you can bet your bottom dollar he has these laptop-wielding harpies in mind.

3. One who is rapacious or ravenous; an extortioner.
   • c. 1772, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs. Bunbury

     The harpies about me all pocket the pool.

4. The European moor buzzard or marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus).
5. A large and powerful double-crested, short-winged American eagle (Harpia harpyja).

• harpy bat
• harpy fly
• harpy eagle

• harridan

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑrpɯ/

harpy

1. definite accusative of harp