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sphinx

sphinx is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.Hence: A person of enigmatical character and purposes, especially in politics and diplomacy.
  2. 2.(Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of large moths of the family Sphingidæ; -- called also hawk moth. Note: The larva is a stout naked caterpillar which, when at rest, often assumes a position suggesting the Egyptian sphinx, whence the name.
  3. 3.(Zoöl.) The Guinea, or sphinx, baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx). Sphinx baboon (Zoöl.), a large West African baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx), often kept in menageries. -- Sphinx moth. (Zoöl.) Same as Sphinx, 3.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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