vam|pire

vam|pire
vam|pire «VAM pyr», noun.
1. a corpse supposed to come to life at night and leave its grave and suck the blood of people while they sleep.
2. Figurative. a) a person who preys ruthlessly on others. b) a woman who flirts with men to get money or to please her vanity. c) an actress known for playing the part of a beautiful woman who is ruthless and vain.
3. = vampire bat. (Cf.vampire bat)
4. a trap door with two leaves closed by a string and used for sudden disappearances from the stage.
[< French vampire < German Vampir < Slavic (compare Serbian vampir)]

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • vam·pire — /ˈvæmˌpajɚ/ noun, pl pires [count] in stories : a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of living people …   Useful english dictionary

  • vam — vam·brace; vam·braced; vam·pire; vam·pir·ic; vam·pir·ish; vam·pir·ism; vam·pir·ize; vam·plate; vam·py·rel·la; vam·py·rum; le·vam·i·sole; …   English syllables

  • pire — ex·pire; sus·pire; vam·pire; em·pire; ram·pire; um·pire; …   English syllables

  • vampire — vam·pire …   English syllables

  • vampire — vam·pire vam .pī(ə)r n VAMPIRE BAT * * * vam·pire (vamґpīr) vampire bat …   Medical dictionary

  • vampire — vam•pire [[t]ˈvæm paɪər[/t]] n. 1) myt a) (in E European folklore) a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or a demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living b) any of various popular or literary representations of the… …   From formal English to slang

  • vampire — vam|pire [ˈvæmpaıə US paır] n [Date: 1700 1800; : French; Origin: German vampir, from Serbo Croat, perhaps from Turkish uber witch ] in stories, a dead person that sucks people s blood by biting their necks …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • vampire — vam|pire [ væm,paır ] noun count a character in stories who appears at night to bite people s necks and suck their blood …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • vampire bat — vam′pire bat n. 1) mam any small New World tropical bat of the family Desmodontidae, having specialized front teeth for cutting into the skin and drawing blood from resting animals 2) mam any of several other bats, esp. those of the family… …   From formal English to slang

  • Vampire Chair — (Vam pire Chair) In Canter County in the mountains of East Tennessee, United States, chair making brothers Eli and Jacob Odom were famous for their tight joint, mule eared, slat back, hickory splits, woven seat chairs. Hundreds of their chairs… …   Encyclopedia of vampire mythology

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