'sphinx' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'sphinx', which the Latin language borrowed from Greek 'sphinx' (σφίγξ), where the related verb 'sphíngō' meant 'to squeeze' or 'to bind tight'.

'sphinx' changed from Greek 'σφίγξ' to Latin 'sphinx', passed into Old French (e.g., as forms like 'esfinx'), then into Middle English as 'sphinx', and eventually became the modern English word 'sphinx'.

Initially it referred specifically to the mythological creature (and later to monumental statues representing it); over time it also developed a figurative meaning of 'a mysterious or inscrutable person'.