Wiktionary

vampire

See also: Vampire

English

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

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French vampire, from German Vampir, via Hungarian from a Slavic word, probably Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr / ва̀мпӣр, from Proto-Slavic *ǫpyrь, further possibly from Proto-Turkic *ōpur (“glutton, witch, evil spirit”), or from native construction. Doublet of oupire.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Actor Béla Lugosi as Dracula,
the vampire-count.

vampire (plural vampires)

  1. A mythological creature (usually humanoid and undead) said to feed on the blood or life energy of the living. [from 1732]
    Synonyms: nosferatu, lamia
    Bram Stoker's novel Dracula built on centuries-old stories of vampires and also encouraged new growth of the mythology.
    • 1732 May 20, The London Journal, page 76, column 1:
      [I]n the Village of Medreyga in Hungary, certain dead Bodies (call'd there Vampyres) had kill'd several Persons by sucking out all their Blood: That Arnold Paul, an Heyduke, having kill'd four Persons after he was dead, his Body was taken up 40 Days after, which bled at the Nose, Mouth and Ears: That, according to Custom, they drove a Stake thro' his Heart, at which he gave horrid Groan, and lost a great deal of Blood. And that all such as have been tormented or kill'd by Vampyres, become Vampyres when they are dead.
    • 1819, John William Polidori, The Vampyre, London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, page xxi:
      The universal belief is, that a person sucked by a vampyre becomes a vampyre himself, and sucks in his turn.
    • 1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:
      From my laboratory in the Castle east
      To the master bedroom, where the vampires feast
      The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
      To get a jolt from my electrodes
      They did the Mash
      They did the Monster Mash.
    • 1974, Neil Young, “Vampire Blues”, in On the Beach:
      I'm a vampire, baby, sucking blood from the earth / Well, I'm a vampire, baby, sell you twenty barrels worth
  2. (colloquial, usually humorous) A person with habits traditionally ascribed to (literal) vampires, such as heliophobia, being a night owl, having pale skin, and so on.
    Near-synonyms: heliophobe, goth
    Somehow I doubt that Kelly will want to go surfing with us — she's such a vampire that she might recoil from the sun, lol!
  3. (colloquial, offensive) A person with the medical condition porphyria cutanea tarda, colloquially known as vampirism, with effects such as photosensitivity and brownish-red stained teeth.
  4. A blood-sucking bat; vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) [from later 18th c.]
    Synonym: vampire bat
  5. (figurative, derogatory) A person who drains one's time, energy, money, etc.
    emotional vampire
    You have to be careful what you tell her, because she's such a vampire for drama.
  6. (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.
  7. (US slang) A medical technician who works with patients' blood; especially, a phlebotomist.
    • 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."
  8. (US military slang) Synonym of anti-ship missile (ASM), particularly an incoming hostile one.
    Vampire. Vampire. Vampire. Battle stations.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Translations

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Verb

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vampire (third-person singular simple present vampires, present participle vampiring, simple past and past participle vampired)

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

Translations

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See also

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References

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Anagrams

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Esperanto

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Etymology

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vampiro (“vampire”) +‎ -e

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /vamˈpire/
  • Rhymes: -ire
  • Syllabification: vam‧pi‧re

Adverb

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vampire

  1. vampirically
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French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

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    Borrowed from German Vampir, from Serbo-Croatian vampir.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    vampire m (plural vampires)

    1. vampire

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Further reading

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    Portuguese

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    Verb

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    vampire

    1. inflection of vampirar:
      1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
      2. third-person singular imperative

    Romanian

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    vampire f pl

    1. plural of vampiră

    Turkish

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    Noun

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    vampire

    1. dative singular of vampir
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