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Definitions of a Vampire Main Entry: vam·pire Pronunciation: 'vam-"pIr Function: noun Etymology: French, from German Vampir, from Serbo-Croatian vampir Date: 1734 1 : the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep 2 a : one who lives by preying on others b : a woman who exploits and ruins her lover 3 : VAMPIRE BAT Main Entry: vampire bat Function: noun Date: 1790 : any of several Central and So. American bats (Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata of the subfamily Desmodontinae of the family Phyllostomidae) that feed on the blood of birds and mammals and especially domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of equine trypanosomiasis and of rabies; also : any of several other bats (as of the families Megadermatidae and Phyllostomidae) that do not feed on blood but are sometimes reputed to do so Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Online) vam·pire (vmpr) n. A reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people. A person, such as an extortionist, who preys upon others. A vampire bat. [French, from German Vampir, of Slavic origin.] vam·piric (vm-prk) or vam·piri·cal (--kl) or vampirish (-sh) adj. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. vampire \Vam"pire\, n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.] [Written also vampyre.] 1. A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition is now prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730. The persons who turn vampires are generally wizards, witches, suicides, and persons who have come to a violent end, or have been cursed by their parents or by the church, --Encyc. Brit. 2. Fig.: One who lives by preying on others; an extortioner; a bloodsucker. 3. (Zo["o]l.) Either one of two or more species of South American blood-sucking bats belonging to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. These bats are destitute of molar teeth, but have strong, sharp cutting incisors with which they make punctured wounds from which they suck the blood of horses, cattle, and other animals, as well as man, chiefly during sleep. They have a c[ae]cal appendage to the stomach, in which the blood with which they gorge themselves is stored. 4. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of harmless tropical American bats of the genus Vampyrus, especially V. spectrum. These bats feed upon insects and fruit, but were formerly erroneously supposed to suck the blood of man and animals. Called also false vampire. Vampire bat (Zo["o]l.), a vampire, 3. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. vampire n : (folklore) a corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living [syn: lamia] Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University All copyrights acknowledged.