Word of the Week: harpy (HÄR-pē)

Definition

(Noun) A rapacious, plundering, or grasping person; one that preys upon others.

In Context

“Like some sort of harpy, he would appear in the street and even his acquaintances, spotting him from far off, would try to dodge and avoid the encounter, saying it was enough to poison all the rest of the day.”

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, Translators, The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol, 1998.