Hippogriffe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A legendary creature with the forequarters of an eagle and the hindquarters of a horse, often shown in medieval and fantasy art
2. An imaginary winged beast combining the head and talons of an eagle with the body of a horse, found in old European legend
3. A fabled animal from myth, part eagle and part horse, known for its majestic wings and proud bearing in stories

Etymology: Ludovico Ariosto invented this creature in "Orlando Furioso", his Italian epic published in 1516. He called it "ippogrifo," joining two existing animals: the horse, from Greek "hippos," and the griffin, from "grifo." Ariosto's hybrid had the forequarters of an eagle and the body of a horse, and his knights use it to cross great distances, including a flight to the moon. The English form entered the language by the 1590s, when Sir John Harington published a translation of Ariosto's poem. Writers in English had no older tradition of the creature to draw on, so the word arrived with its literary origin attached.