Meanings
lamia1
- Greekhuman sciencesA monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.
Coordinate term: naga
1 more example
Apollonius […] by some probable conjectures, found her out to be a serpent, a lamia, and that all her furniture was like Tantalus' gold described by Homer, no substance, but mere illusions.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 2, member 1, subsection iSynonyms: vampire
Lamia2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(folklore) a corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient GreekΛάμια
- Latinlamia
- Englishlamia
From Latin lamia, from Ancient Greek Λάμια (Lámia).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Λάμια
- Λάμια (Lámia)monster in mythology
Basque lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Catalan làmia
- làmiamonster in mythology
Chinese Mandarin 拉米亞 /拉米亚
- 拉米亞 /拉米亚monster in mythology
Czech lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Dutch lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Estonian lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Finnish lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
French lamie, Lamia
- lamiemonster in mythology
- Lamiacity in Greece
German Lamia
- Lamiamonster in mythology
Greek Λάμια, λάμια
- Λάμια (Lámia)monster in mythology
- λάμια (lámia)monster in mythology
- Λαμία (Lamía)city in Greece
Italian lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Japanese ラミアー
- ラミアーmonster in mythology
Korean 라미아
- 라미아 (ramia)monster in mythology
Latin lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Lithuanian lamija
- lamijamonster in mythology
Norwegian lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Polish lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Portuguese lâmia
- lâmiamonster in mythology
Russian ламия
- ламия (lamija)monster in mythology
Spanish lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Swedish lamia
- lamiamonster in mythology
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lamia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lamia
“lamia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lamia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lamia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lamia.
Source: lamia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.