strix means A bird-like demon feeding on human flesh and blood. It carries an Arena rating of 1546, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, strix ranks #309 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words, #2,099 of 17,130 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,240 of 17,122 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,539 of 17,118 for Scariest Words.
Why “strix” is a great word
A bird-like demon or nocturnal spirit in classical mythology, an ill omen believed to feed on human flesh and blood. From Latin strix ("screech owl; vampire/evil spirit"), from Ancient Greek στρίξ (stríx, "screecher"), an onomatopoeic term for a night bird. Unlike striga, which later condensed into a witch-like, humanoid figure, or harpy, a winged snatcher of things, the strix is the more ancient and ambiguous terror—a malignant essence with feathers. It is the rustle in the ivy that is not the wind, the shadow that passes over the moon with a thin, hungry cry, the cold prickle on the nape when the wind dies and a cry hangs in the air—the oldest fear that darkness does not merely hide monsters, but breeds them.
Etymology
From Latin strix, from Ancient Greek στρίξ (stríx, “screecher”).
noun
- A bird-like demon feeding on human flesh and blood.e.g.“What was distinctive about the strix was that […] it resembled an owl, or (to a lesser extent) a bat, being a winged, clawed creature, which flew by night and had a hideous screeching cry.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- strigoi 59% match — In Balkan folklore, the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. vs strix →
- shrike 54% match — Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. vs strix →
- rakshasa 54% match — A member of a race of mythical fanged demons that eat human flesh and blood, somewhat like vampires. vs strix →
- demonfolk 52% match — A race of demonic people. vs strix →
- lamia 51% match — A monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent. vs strix →
- birdeater 51% match — Anything which eats birds. vs strix →
- demonlike 50% match — Resembling a demon in form or action vs strix →
- murderbird 50% match — The butcherbird, the shrike. vs strix →