From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishharpyhar‧py /ˈhɑːpi $ ˈhɑːrpi/ noun (plural harpies) [countable] 1 literaryCRUEL a cruel woman2 → Harpy
Examples from the Corpus
harpy• McAllister wanted to go in and do something, anything, to stop such a harpy from hurting him.• That was when, with a glass-cracking shriek, the harpy brought him down from behind.• The harpies from Paris running the road houses which must inevitably multiply will be a worse scourge than the mosquitoes.HarpyHarpya cruel creature in ancient Greek stories, with the head and upper body of a woman and the wings and feet of a bird → harpyOrigin harpy (1800-1900) Harpy name of a creature in ancient Greek stories with the head of a woman and the body of a bird ((16-21 centuries)), from Greek harpyia “seizer” 