vampire

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: vam=pire

CIDE DICTIONARY

vampire, n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.].

•  A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition was once prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730. The vampire was often said to have the ability to transform itself into the form of a bat, as presented in the novel depicting the legend of Dracula published by Bram Stoker in 1897, which has inspired several movies.  [1913 Webster]

  "The persons who turn vampires are generally wizards, witches, suicides, and persons who have come to a violent end, or have been cursed by their parents or by the church,"  [1913 Webster]
•  Fig.: One who lives by preying on others; an extortioner; a bloodsucker.  [1913 Webster]
•  Either one of two or more species of South American blood-sucking bats belonging to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla; also called vampire bat. These bats are destitute of molar teeth, but have strong, sharp cutting incisors with which they make punctured wounds from which they suck the blood of horses, cattle, and other animals, as well as man, chiefly during sleep. They have a cæcal appendage to the stomach, in which the blood with which they gorge themselves is stored.  [1913 Webster]
•  Any one of several species of harmless tropical American bats of the genus Vampyrus, especially Vampyrus spectrum. These bats feed upon insects and fruit, but were formerly erroneously supposed to suck the blood of man and animals. Called also false vampire.  [1913 Webster]

Vampire bat (Zoöl.), a vampire, 3.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

vampire, n.
1 a ghost or reanimated corpse supposed to leave its grave at night to suck the blood of persons sleeping.
2 a person who preys ruthlessly on others.
3 (in full vampire bat) any tropical (esp. South American) bat of the family Desmodontidae, with incisors for piercing flesh and feeding on blood.
4 Theatr. a small spring trapdoor used for sudden disappearances.

Derivative

vampiric adj.

Etymology

F vampire or G Vampir f. Magyar vampir perh. f. Turk. uber witch

THESAURUS

vampire

Aspasia, Baba Yaga, Circe, Delilah, Don Juan, Dracula, Euryale, Frankenstein, Gorgon, Jezebel, Lilith, Lorelei, Medea, Medusa, Messalina, Parthenope, Phryne, Siren, Stheno, Thais, Wolf-man, adventuress, afreet, ape-man, barghest, bewitcher, blackmailer, bloodsucker, bogey, bogeyman, bugaboo, bugbear, cacodemon, captive, catch, charmer, conquest, coquette, courtesan, daeva, date, demimondaine, demimonde, demirep, demon, devil, devil incarnate, dybbuk, enchanter, enchantress, enticer, evil genius, evil spirit, extortionist, fee-faw-fum, femme fatale, fiend, fiend from hell, flirt, frightener, genie, genius, ghost, ghoul, gyre, harem girl, harpy, hellhound, hellion, hellkite, hetaera, hobgoblin, holy terror, honey, horror, houri, incubus, inveigler, jinni, jinniyeh, lamia, leech, monster, nightmare, odalisque, ogre, ogress, phantom, predator, profiteer, racketeer, rakshasa, raptor, revenant, satan, scarebabe, scarecrow, scarer, seducer, seductress, shakedown artist, shark, shedu, siren, specter, spellbinder, steady, succubus, sweet patootie, sweetheart, sweetie, teaser, tempter, temptress, terror, the undead, vamp, vulture, werewolf, yogini

ROGET THESAURUS

vampire

Demon

N demon, daemon, demonry, demonology, evil genius, fiend, familiar, daeva, devil, bad spirit, unclean spirit, cacodemon, incubus, Eblis, shaitan, succubus, succuba, Frankenstein's monster, Titan, Shedim, Mephistopheles, Asmodeus, Moloch, Belial, Ahriman, fury, harpy, Friar Rush, vampire, ghoul, afreet, barghest, Loki, ogre, ogress, gnome, gin, jinn, imp, deev, lamia, bogie, bogeyman, bogle, nis, kobold, flibbertigibbet, fairy, brownie, pixy, elf, dwarf, urchin, Puck, Robin Goodfellow, leprechaun, Cluricaune, troll, dwerger, sprite, ouphe, bad fairy, nix, nixie, pigwidgeon, will-o'-the wisp, ghost, revenant, specter, apparition, spirit, shade, shadow, vision, hobglobin, goblin, orc, wraith, spook, boggart, banshee, loup-garou, lemures, evil eye, merman, mermaid, merfolk, siren, satyr, faun, manito, manitou, manitu, possession, demonic possession, diabolic possession, insanity, Maxwell's demon, demoniac, demonic, demonical, impish, demoniacal, fiendish, fiend-like, supernatural, weird, uncanny, unearthly, spectral, ghostly, ghost-like, elfin, elvin, elfish, elflike, haunted, pokerish, possessed, possessed by a devil, possessed by a demon, demonically.

Evil doer

N evil doer, evil worker, wrongdoer, mischief-maker, marplot, oppressor, tyrant, destroyer, Vandal, iconoclast, firebrand, incendiary, fire bug, pyromaniac, anarchist, communist, terrorist, savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado, Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, Red Skin, tough, Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk, bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer, thief, cockatrice, scorpion, hornet, snake, viper, adder, snake in the grass, serpent, cobra, asp, rattlesnake, anaconda, canker-worm, wire-worm, locust, Colorado beetle, alacran, alligator, caymon, crocodile, mosquito, mugger, octopus, torpedo, bane, cutthroat, cannibal, anthropophagus, anthropophagist, bloodsucker, vampire, ogre, ghoul, gorilla, vulture, gyrfalcon, gerfalcon, wild beast, tiger, hyena, butcher, hangman, blood-hound, hell- hound, sleuth-hound, catamount, cougar, jaguar, puma, hag, hellhag, beldam, Jezebel, monster, fiend, devil incarnate, demon in human shape, Frankenstein's monster, harpy, siren, Furies, Eumenides, Hun, Attila, scourge of the human race, faenum habet in cornu.