harpy (n.)

古代神话中的有翼怪兽，14世纪晚期，来自古法语 harpie（14世纪），源自拉丁语 harpyia，来自希腊语 Harpyia（复数），字面意思是“抢夺者”，可能与 harpazein “抢夺”有关（见 rapid（形容词））。引申义为“贪婪丑陋的人”约于1400年。

In Homer they are merely personified storm winds, who were believed to have carried off any person that had suddenly disappeared. In Hesiod they are fair-haired and winged maidens who surpass the winds in swiftness, and are called Aello and Ocypete; but in later writers they are represented as disgusting monsters, with heads like maidens, faces pale with hunger, and claws like those of birds. The harpies ministered to the gods as the executors of vengeance. ["American Cyclopædia," 1874]

在荷马史诗中，它们只是拟人化的风暴，据信它们曾带走任何突然消失的人。在赫西俄德的作品中，它们是金发有翼的少女，超越了风的速度，被称为 Aello 和 Ocypete； 但在后来的作家笔下，它们被描绘成令人厌恶的怪物，头像少女，面色苍白，爪子像鸟一样。哈比女神是作为复仇的执行者而为众神服务的。["美国百科全书"，1874]