Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

      The awful ruins of the days of old . . . Or jasper tomb,
      or mutilated sphinx.                        --Shelley.
      (b) On Greek art and mythology, a she-monster, usually
          represented as having the winged body of a lion, and
          the face and breast of a young woman.

   Note: The most famous Grecian sphinx, that of Thebes in
         B[oe]otia, is said to have proposed a riddle to the
         Thebans, and killed those who were unable to guess it.
         The enigma was solved by [OE]dipus, whereupon the
         sphinx slew herself. ``Subtle as sphinx.'' --Shak.

   2. Hence: A person of enigmatical character and purposes,
      especially in politics and diplomacy.

   3. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of large moths of
      the family {Sphingid[ae]}; -- called also {hawk moth}.

   Note: The larva is a stout naked caterpillar which, when at
         rest, often assumes a position suggesting the Egyptian
         sphinx, whence the name.

   4. (Zo["o]l.) The Guinea, or sphinx, baboon ({Cynocephalus
      sphinx}).

   {Sphinx baboon} (Zo["o]l.), a large West African baboon
      ({Cynocephalus sphinx}), often kept in menageries.

   {Sphinx moth}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Sphinx}, 3.