What does sphinx mean?
Word: Sphinx
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Sphinx means an ancient stone statue with the body of a lion and the head of a person.
Word origin: From Greek sphinx, which reached English through Latin.
How do you spell sphinx?
Syllables: sphinx
Tricky part: The f sound at the start is written ph, a sign of a word that came from Greek; sfinx and shpinx are the slips to avoid.
Watch out for: sfinx, shpinx
Memory tip: Picture the stone lion wearing a pair of headphones: the ph that makes the f sound in headphones does the same job in sphinx.
Sphinx in a sentence
Example 1: Omar's postcard showed the Great Sphinx glowing in the evening sun.
Example 2: Our history project included a clay model of a sphinx, painted the colour of sand.
Example 3: Omar copied the curving lines of the sphinx's headdress into his sketchbook.
Fun Fact
The Great Sphinx was carved mainly out of the natural rock of its hillside rather than built up from separate blocks, and its nose has been missing for hundreds of years.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) sphinx : sphinxs
b) matrix : matrices
c) reflex : reflexes
d) suffix : suffixes
Show answer
a) sphinx : sphinxs. A noun ending in x takes -es in the plural, so the plural should be sphinxes.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
sph_nx
a) u
b) a
c) e
d) i
Show answer
d) i. The vowel is the short i of pin.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. The Great Sphinx of Giza is shown lying down with its front paws stretched forward. 2. An obelisk is a tall stone pillar with four sides and a pointed top. 3. A mosaic is a picture painted with a single sweep of a brush.
a) only 2 and 3 are true
b) only 1 and 2 are true
c) only 1 is true
d) all three are true
Show answer
b) only 1 and 2 are true. A mosaic is built from many small pieces of stone or glass, so the third statement is false.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with sphinx?
a) thinks
b) kings
c) links
d) lynx
Show answer
b) kings. Kings ends in a buzzing z with no k sound; links, thinks and lynx end in the same -inks sound as sphinx.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If someone sat 'like a sphinx' through a long meeting, what did they do?
a) talked loudly the whole time
b) left early to catch a train
c) laughed at every joke made
d) kept still and gave little away
Show answer
d) kept still and gave little away
2. In which country does the most famous sphinx stand?
a) Mexico
b) Greece
c) Peru
d) Egypt
Show answer
d) Egypt
