vampiren.
/ˈvampʌɪə/, U.S. /ˈvæmˌpaɪ(ə)r/ 1. A preternatural being of a malignant nature (in the original and usual form of the belief, a reanimated corpse), supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons; a man or woman abnormally endowed with similar habits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [noun] > vampire
vampire1745
bloodsucker1777
vampire corpse1801
penanggalan1839
Pontianak1839
langsuir1881
α.
β. 1796 S. Pegge Anonymiana (1809) 182 The accounts we have of the Vampires of Hungary are most incredible. They are Blood-suckers, that come out of their graves to torment the living.1813 Ld. Byron Giaour 24 (note) The freshness of the face, and the wetness of the lip with blood, are the never-failing signs of a Vampire.1846 T. Wright Ess. Middle Ages I. ix. 301 Walter Mapes..gives some curious stories of English vampires in the twelfth century.1886 Sat. Rev. 9 Jan. 55 We would welcome a spectre, a ghoul, or even a vampire gladly, rather than meet [Stevenson's] Mr. Edward Hyde.1745 J. Swinton Trav. Three English Gent. in Harleian Misc. IV. 358 These Vampyres are supposed to be the Bodies of deceased Persons, animated by evil Spirits, which come out of the Graves, in the Night-time, suck the Blood of many of the Living, and thereby destroy them.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 66 From a meal he advances to a surfeit, and at last sucks blood like a vampyre.
1819 J. W. Polidori Vampyre p. xx He had been tormented by a vampyre, but had found a way to rid himself of the evil, by eating some of the earth out of the vampyre's grave.
1847 L. H. Kerr tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Servia iv. 71 Speedy death was the inevitable consequence of such a visitation, and any one who so died became himself a vampyre.
2. transferred.
a. A person of a malignant and loathsome character, esp. one who preys ruthlessly upon others; a vile and cruel exactor or extortioner. spec. = vamp n.4
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > extortion > [noun] > one who
wringera1300
askera1325
extortionerc1375
exactor1382
scaffer?a1513
shaver1534
caterpillar1541
bloodsucker?1555
suck-purse1586
griper1587
extortor1590
exacter1596
extorter1605
barathrum1609
wreather1648
shark1713
vampire1741
bleeder1846
flayer1865
extortionist1885
Shylock1894
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > fierceness > [noun] > person or being
wolfa900
liona1225
wild manc1290
boar1297
fell1340
tiger?a1513
centaur1565
wolver1593
to speak bandog and Bedlam1600
vulture1605
killbuck1612
man-tigera1652
Tartar1669
hyena1671
dragoon1712
vampire1741
Huna1744
panther1868
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > savage person > [noun] > preying on others
vampire1741
the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [noun] > flirt > female flirt
simper-de-cocketa1529
minx?1576
Mistress Minx1576
coquette1611
flirt1747
allumeusec1891
vampire1903
vampa1911
kikay1993
1741 C. Forman Some Queries & Observ. Revol. in 1688 11 These are the vampires of the publick, and riflers of the kingdom.
1814 H. Shelley Let. 20 Nov. in Shelley Lett. (1964) I. 421 i. 992 In short, the man I once loved is dead. This is a vampire. His character is blasted for ever.
1846 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 II. iv. 174 There appeared to be no prospect of shaking off the vampires that had fastened themselves on the princes of Rajputana.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 164 The vampires who supplied them with liquor had somehow obtained a claim upon all their wages.
1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iv. 170 You lie, you vampire, you lie.
1918 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 20 Apr. 4 (caption) Theda Bara... Vampire of the Screen.
1919 Honey Pot 1 42 Miss Maitland was a ‘vampire’ of an entirely new type.
1920 C. D. Fox Who's Who on Screen 301 Louise Glaum, who is credited with having given to the screen one of the most perfect vampire characterizations, was born near Baltimore.
a1953 E. O'Neill Long Day's Journey (1956) iv. 165 Made whores fascinating vampires instead of poor, stupid, diseased slobs they really are.
1968 Word Study Dec. 4/2 A vampire is a woman who uses sex to facilitate the acquisition of money or other signs of wealth.
1978 Ld. Birkenhead Rudyard Kipling vii. 99 A grim but authentic picture..of callow subalterns trotting beside the rickshaw wheels of faded provincial vampires.
b. slang. An intolerable bore or tedious person.
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the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull person
grub1653
noddeea1680
insipid1699
rocker1762
bore1812
Dryasdust1819
insipidity1822
prose1844
bagpipe1850
vampire1862
pill1865
jeff1870
terebrant1890
poop1893
stodger1905
club bore1910
nudnik1916
stodge1922
dreary1925
dreep1927
binder1930
drip1932
douchebag1946
drear1958
drag1959
noodge1968
anorak1984
1862 B. Taylor At Home & Abroad III. ii. 215 In the German language there is no epithet which exactly translates our word ‘bore’, or its intensification, ‘vampyre’.
c. Applied to a mosquito.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Culicidae > member of (gnat or mosquito)
mosquito1572
moustique1666
mosquito fly1750
gnat1787
mosquito gnat1828
skeeter1839
vampire1864
culicid1907
mozzie1916
1864 J. C. Geikie George Stanley iv. 61 A sharp prick and the little vampire is drinking your blood.
3. Zoology.
a. One or other of various bats, chiefly South American, known or popularly believed to be blood-suckers.
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the world > animals > mammals > order Chiroptera or bat > [noun] > suborder Microchiroptera > family Desmodontidae (vampire bat)
vampire1774
spectre-bat1781
vampire bat1790
flying-dog1796
javelin-bat1861
α.
β. 1780 W. Smellie tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. Gen. & Particular V. 283 We shall call it Vampire, because it sucks the blood of men and other animals when asleep.1783 Encycl. Brit. X. 8711/2 The vampyrus, vampire, or Ternate bat, with large canine teeth.1825 C. Waterton Wanderings in S. Amer. iii. 154 The owls went away of their own accord... The bats and vampires remained with me.1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. ii. 25 My servant,..suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the vampire.1893 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. I. 299 The vampires are remarkable for the varied nature of their food.1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 143 An animal not so formidable, but still more mischievous than these, is the American Vampyre.
1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Phys. Geogr. 55/1 The vampyres, or blood-sucking bats, nine species of which have been mentioned.
1845 ‘E. Warburton’ Crescent & Cross (1859) xvi. 168 My companion slew fifty-seven Vampyres in the few minutes.
b. The tarantula spider. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > suborder Labidognatha or Dipneumones > member of family Lycosidae > lycosa tarantula
tarantula1561
earth-spider1679
Naples spider1840
vampire1843
Tarentine spider-
1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet III. xiii. 271 The deadly tarantula spider or ‘vampire’ of the prairies.
c. The devil-fish. rare.
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the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Hypotremata > [noun] > member of family Mobulidae
sea-devil1634
manta1758
vampire1867
1867 Chronicle 5 Oct. 669 This giant of the Cephaloptera is simply a monstrous Ray; and though Sea-Devil and Vampire are assigned to it as trivial names, it..is in no way formidable save from its enormous strength and bulk.
4. A double-leaved trapdoor, closing by means of springs, used in theatres to effect a sudden disappearance from the stage.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > trapdoor
trap1800
grave-trap1844
vampire trap1846
scruto1853
slote1853
star trap1873
vampire1881
1881 W. S. Gilbert Foggerty's Fairy i. 17 Where's my vampire?
1886 Stage Gossip 69 A ‘vampire’ is a trap used by the sprites, and is cut in the ‘flats’, and often in the stage—the sprite falling bodily through the trap.
Compounds
C1. attributive and in other combinations.
a.
vampire bookseller n.
ΚΠ
1793 R. Burns Poems (ed. 2) II. 183 Vampyre booksellers drain him to the heart.
vampire corpse n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [noun] > vampire
vampire1745
bloodsucker1777
vampire corpse1801
penanggalan1839
Pontianak1839
langsuir1881
1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. viii. 103 Thro' the vampire corpse He thrust his lance.
1819 J. W. Polidori Vampyre Introd. p. xxiii The vampyre corse of the Arabian maid Oneiza.
vampire-fanned adj.
ΚΠ
1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 31 Swing me in the upas boughs, Vampire-fanned, when I carouse.
vampire legend n.
ΚΠ
1855 E. Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 69 Criticism applied to the Vampire legends by an anonymous writer.
vampire spell n.
ΚΠ
1899 E. J. Chapman Snake-witch in Drama Two Lives 39 That unrest That held him with its vampire spell.
vampire story n.
ΚΠ
1871 E. B. Tylor Primitive Culture II. 175 There is a whole literature of hideous vampire stories.
vampire superstition n.
ΚΠ
1813 Ld. Byron Giaour 23 (note) The Vampire superstition is still general in the Levant.
vampire tinge n.
ΚΠ
1828 Lights & Shades Eng. Life I. 42 A sort of yellowish-greenish, brownish grey—an unearthly vampire tinge.
vampire wing n.
ΚΠ
1837 A. Tennent Vis. Glencoe 49 Some [of the devils] seem'd equipp'd with vampire wing.
b.
vampire winged adj.
ΚΠ
1831 E. A. Poe Poems 64 Some tomb, which oft hath flung into black And vampyre-winged pannels back.
C2.
vampire bat n. = sense 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Chiroptera or bat > [noun] > suborder Microchiroptera > family Desmodontidae (vampire bat)
vampire1774
spectre-bat1781
vampire bat1790
flying-dog1796
javelin-bat1861
1790 G. Shaw Speculum Linnæanum The Vampyre Bat. Tailless Bat with the nose plain, and the flying-membrane divided between the thighs.
1807 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 97 176 The vampyre bat, which will be found to live on vegetables.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. ii. 25 The Vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses on their withers.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. ii. iii. 176 Like vampire-bats, they're squeaking, twittering, humming.
vampire trap n. = sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > trapdoor
trap1800
grave-trap1844
vampire trap1846
scruto1853
slote1853
star trap1873
vampire1881
1846 S. F. Smith Theatr. Apprenticeship viii. 63 Down I went through the trap-door (it was what actors call a Vampire trap) before any one was aware of my intentions.
1893 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 4/2 All his disappearances are done by means of the ordinary pantomime ‘vampire’ trap.
Derivatives
ˈvampire v. (transitive) to assail or prey upon after the manner of a vampire.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)]
assail?c1225
to set on ——c1290
saila1300
to turn one's handc1325
lashc1330
to set against ——c1330
impugnc1384
offendc1385
weighc1386
checka1400
to lay at?a1400
havec1400
to set at ——c1430
fraya1440
rehetea1450
besail1460
fray1465
tuilyie1487
assaulta1500
enterprise?1510
invade1513
sturt1513
attempt1546
lay1580
tilt1589
to fall aboard——1593
yoke1596
to let into1598
to fall foul1602
attack1655
do1780
to go in at1812
to pitch into ——1823
tackle1828
vampire1832
bushwhack1837
to go for ——1838
take1864
pile1867
volcano1867
to set about ——1879
vampirize1888
to get stuck into1910
to take to ——1911
weigh1941
rugby-tackle1967
rugger-tackle1967
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > spoliation or depredation > despoil or prey upon [verb (transitive)]
reaveOE
stripa1225
pill?c1225
robc1225
peela1250
despoil1297
raimc1300
spoilc1330
spoila1340
to pull a finch (also pigeon, plover, etc.)c1387
despoil1393
preya1400
spoila1400
spulyiea1400
unspoila1400
riflec1400
poll1490
to pill and poll1528
to poll and pill1528
exspoila1530
pilyie1539
devour?1542
plume1571
rive1572
bepill1574
fleece1575
to prey over1576
pread1577
disvaledge1598
despoliate1607
to make spoil of1613
expilate1624
to peel and poll1641
depredate1651
violatea1657
disvalise1672
to pick feathers off (a person)1677
to make stroy of1682
spoliate1699
pilfer1714
snabble1725
rump1815
vampire1832
sweat1847
ploat1855
vampirize1888
1832 J. Jekyll Let. 29 Nov. in Corr. (1894) ix. 306 Sotheby will not let poor Sir Walter lie quietly in his grave, but vampires him with verses that would disgrace even the annuals.
1905 B. Kennedy Green Sphinx xxi The only wealth of the world is the produce coming from the labour of Nature... And gold insolently vampires this produce.
ˈvampiredom n. the state of being a vampire (sense 1); the acts of a vampire.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [noun] > vampire > state of being
vampiredom1933
1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 28 Sept. 653/3 The more obvious literary possibilities of vampiredom were thoroughly explored and exploited nearly forty years ago.
1972 Daily Tel. 12 May (Colour Suppl.) 56 There before the horrified gaze of the living was all the evidence of vampiredom—twisted position, torn shroud and blood.
vamˈpiric adj. of the nature of a vampire.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [adjective] > of a vampire
vampiric1853
vampirish1891
undead1897
vampirine1914
vampirical1969
1853 D. G. Rossetti Let. 17 Apr. (1965) I. 136 Such are the vampyric notions of reciprocity.
1882 H. C. Merivale Faucit of Balliol ii. vi I'm not sure that you are not a ghost..of some uncomfortable vampiric order.
1963 Listener 24 Jan. 165/2 She [sc. Marilyn Monroe] had all the physical equipment of the vamp, but the spirit of the girl next door... Marilyn was never truly vampiric on the screen, and she was never a ‘taker’ in life.
ˈvampirine adj. = vampiric adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [adjective] > of a vampire
vampiric1853
vampirish1891
undead1897
vampirine1914
vampirical1969
1914 in D. McCarthy Drama (1940) 129 This is too much for Vanya; he explodes at the old vampirine humbug, and..dashes from the room.
1946 E. Blunden Shelley x. 135 Byron began and dropped a thriller which was becoming vampirine.
ˈvampirish adj. = vampiric adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [adjective] > of a vampire
vampiric1853
vampirish1891
undead1897
vampirine1914
vampirical1969
1891 A. Lang Angling Sketches 57 The Highland fairies are very vampirish.
1929 Sunday Disp. 13 Jan. 1/2 Among my own friends my reputation is notoriously the reverse of vampirish, money means nothing to me.
1944 R. Lehmann Ballad & Source v. viii. 300 Mother fastened vampirish eyes on her.
1981 N. Tucker Child & Bk. vii. 198 Religious references..to the Virgin Mary behaving in a way that is distinctly vampirish have been glossed over.
Draft additions 1993
vamˈpirical adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [adjective] > of a vampire
vampiric1853
vampirish1891
undead1897
vampirine1914
vampirical1969
1969 Daily Tel. 16 May 16/7 She contrives..in a vengeful after-life to play..vampirical havoc with passing warriors.
1990 Guardian Weekly 30 Sept. 25/2 The vampirical twosome whose teeth are sunk so deep into each other's necks that they daren't let go.
vamˈpirically adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [adverb] > in a vampirish manner
vampirically1981
1981 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 July 752/1 Dark legions of the antichrist..vampirically sucking the blood from mankind.
Draft additions June 2016
vampire squid n. [after scientific Latin Vampyroteuthis infernalis ( C. Chun Aus den Tiefen des Weltmeeres (1903) 88)] a small deep-sea cephalopod, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, typically having a dark body covered in light-producing organs, large reddish eyes, and a web of skin connecting the arms.The vampire squid is the sole surviving member of the order Vampyromorphida.
ΚΠ
1947 Waco (Texas) Sunday Tribune-Herald 26 Oct. 10/6 Because of its weird appearance it has been appropriately named ‘Vampyroteuthis Infernalis’, the ‘Vampire Squid of Hell’.
1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs xi. 212 With the webbed octopods were once classed the small deep-water vampire squids (Vampyroteuthis).
1997 Guardian 21 July b19 Remote-controlled submersibles pick out bogglingly weird animals like the vampire squid or things that resemble spacecraft, equipped with bioluminescent flashing lights.
2003 M. Nixon & J. Z. Young Brains & Lives Cephalopods 14 The deep-living vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis, is uniformly black and as its chromatophores lack muscles it is not likely to undergo colour changes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1741