Etymology

harpy

har·py
H4A1R1P3Y4

Today it means: A mythological creature generally depicted as a bird-of-prey with the head of a maiden, a face pale with hunger and long claws on her hands personifying the destructive power of storm winds. Full definition →

Middle French harpie ← Latin harpyia ← Ancient Greek ἅρπυιᾰ
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἅρπυιᾰ
  2. Latin · derived fromharpyia
  3. Middle French · derived fromharpie
  4. English todayharpy

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.