Added 9 October 2026

vampire

/ˈvæm.paɪ.ə(ɹ)/ noun

In Latin: sanguisūga, vampyrus, striga Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about vampire at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A mythological creature (usually humanoid and undead) said to feed on the blood or life energy of the living. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
Bram Stoker's novel Dracula built on centuries-old stories of vampires and also encouraged new growth of the mythology.
A person with habits traditionally ascribed to (literal) vampires, such as heliophobia, being a night owl, having pale skin, and so on.
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!
A person with the medical condition porphyria cutanea tarda, colloquially known as vampirism, with effects such as photosensitivity and brownish-red stained teeth.

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 dhampir and oupire.