sphinx
/ˈsfɪŋks/noun, verb
sphinx is spelled S-P-H-I-N-X: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sphinx means “A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sphinx is sphinxes or sphinges.
How many letters and syllables are in sphinx?
| Letters | 6: S-P-H-I-N-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sphinx?
Sphinx appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sphinx?
- /ˈsfɪŋks/
Sphinx has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sphinx.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sphinx
- sphinxes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sphinges plural
- sphinxing participle, present
- sphinxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sphinx mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion.
- 2
A person who keeps their thoughts and intentions secret; an enigmatic or impassive person.
- 3
datedA mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), formerly classified as a baboon, and called sphinx baboon.
- 4
A sphinx moth.
- 5
rareA sphincter.
verb
- 1
To decorate with sphinxes.
a marble sphinxed chimney-piece
- 2
To adopt the posture of the Sphinx.
A hot lion with a very bloated stomach … will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly.
- 3
To be inscrutable, often through silence.
- 4
To behave in a manner characteristic of the Sphinx.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of sphinx (“a sculpture representing the Theban Sphinx”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sphinx in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mythology: creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sphinx come from?
From Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps either from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “to squeeze, to strangle”) (whence also sphincter), of Pre-Greek origin, or from Egyptian Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “divine image”, literally “living image”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).