— vampiric /vam pir"ik/ , vampirish /vam"puyeur ish/ , adj.
/vam"puyeur/ , n.
1. a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.
2. (in Eastern European folklore) a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living, until it is exhumed and impaled or burned.
3. a person who preys ruthlessly upon others; extortionist.
4. a woman who unscrupulously exploits, ruins, or degrades the men she seduces.
5. an actress noted for her roles as an unscrupulous seductress: the vampires of the silent movies.
[ 1725-35; ( Vampir vàmpir, alter. of earlier upir (by confusion with doublets such as vàzduh, ùzduh air ( vu- ), and with intrusive nasal, as in dùbrava, dumbràva grove); akin to Czech upír, Pol upiór, ORuss upyri, upiri, (Russ upýr' ) u-piri or * o-piri, prob. a deverbal compound with * per- fly, rush (literal meaning variously interpreted) ]