vampire

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See also: Vampire

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Engraving of a vampire

Alternative forms

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French vampire, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German Vampir, from a Slavic word, probably (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr (said to be an alteration of a term *upir), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Slavic *ǫpyrь.[1][2] Compare Russian упы́рь (upýrʹ), Polish upiór, etc.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (AU):(file)

Noun

vampire (plural vampires)

  1. A mythological undead creature said to feed on the blood of the living. [from earlier 18th c.]
  2. (colloquial) A person with the medical condition systemic lupus erythematosus, colloquially known as vampirism, with effects such as photosensitivity and brownish-red stained teeth.
  3. A blood-sucking bat; vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) [from later 18th c.]
  4. (figurative, derogatory) A person who drains one's time, energy, money, etc.
  5. (dated) A vamp: a seductive woman who exploits men.
    • 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era (page 4)
      "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
  6. (US, slang) A medical technician who works with patients' blood.
    • 1992, Terry Pringle, This is the Child:
      Only one technician in the hospital lab, in all we have encountered, uses it. […] Eric makes no complaints other than those directed at the vampires. Brenda and I do.
    • 2000, Tracie Peterson, Colorado Wings (page 373)
      "I draw blood from patients, and then I take it back to the lab and analyze it. Sometimes, the vampires do all the sticks, that is to say the lab assistants do all the blood collections." He grinned. "We have our own language at the lab."

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

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  1. (transitive, figurative) To drain of energy or resources.

See also

References

  1. ^ “vampire”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ^ “vampire”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

Esperanto

Adverb

vampire

  1. vampirically

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Pronunciation

Noun

vampire m (plural vampires)

  1. vampire

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Romanian

Pronunciation

Noun

vampire f pl

  1. plural of vampiră
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