A.W.A.D. - Words Derived from Names of Mythical Creatures

So many mythological animals live on in literature, in our minds, and in our imagination, that they would fill a virtual zoo.

Because these creatures are myths, they're not bound by biological rules. Sometimes they're part human, part animal. They could have a human head and an animal body, or vice versa.

These permutations and combinations of body parts make it look as though the gods were playing a mix-n-match game of combining parts to make composites. At times, one of these mythical animals had more than a single head.

Enjoy looking at the menagerie this week and feel free to use their attributes metaphorically in situations in your life.

chimera
(ki-MEER-uh, ky-) noun
1. A fanciful fabrication; illusion
2. An organism having genetically different tissues

[After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. From Greek khimaira (she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter) that is the ancestor of words such as chimera (literally a female animal that is one winter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him(snow) + alaya (abode).]

argus
(AHR-guhs) noun
An alert and observant person; a watchful guardian

[After Argus, a giant in Greek mythology who had 100 eyes and was sent to watch over Zeus's lover Io. He was killed by Hermes and after his death his eyes transformed into spots on the peacock's tail. Greek argos (bright).]

centaur
(SEN-tor) noun
1. An expert horse rider
2. An unnatural creation made of disparate entities

[After Centaur, a race of monsters having the torso of a human and lower body of a horse. Also, early Greek literature depicted Centaurs as a tribe from Thessaly whose members were skilled horse riders.]

sphinx
(sfingks) noun
A mysterious, inscrutable person

[After Sphinx, a winged monster in Greek mythology who had a woman's head and a lion's body. It killed anyone who was not able to answer its riddle. From Greek sphinx (literally, strangler), from sphingein (to bind tight), also the source of the word sphincter.]

harpy
(HAR-pee) noun
1. A predatory person
2. A bad-tempered woman

[After the Harpies, monsters in Greek mythology, who had a woman's head and a bird's body. The gods ordered them to snatch food from Phineus, a king who was punished for revealing secrets. From Greek harpazein (to snatch).]