Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A member of the lepidopterous family Sphingidæ.
  • Having the characters of or belonging to the family Sphingidæ.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A sphinx.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to a sphinx, or the family Sphingidæ.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biology Any of many hawk moths of the family Sphingidae
  • adjective Of or pertaining to these moths.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of various moths with long narrow forewings capable of powerful flight and hovering over flowers to feed

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin Sphingidae, family name, from Sphinx, type genus, from Latin, sphinx; see sphinx.]

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