petrifiern.
/ˈpɛtrᵻfʌɪə/, U.S. /ˈpɛtrəˌfaɪər/ rare.
A person who or thing which petrifies another.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > formation of rock or stone > [noun] > one who or that which petrifies
Gorgon1646
petrifier1794
1794 C. Pigott Female Jockey Club Pref. p. xxx The grand corrupters, the petrifiers of the human heart.
1851 Harper's Mag. Mar. 533/1 He put those unbecoming petrifiers [sc. spectacles] under lock and key.
1891 E. A. Abbott Philomythus Introd. 16 Almighty God, reported as a Petrifier of unlawfully dressed fowls.
1993 T. Harrison Gaze of Gorgon 66 In old times when Apollo's lyre could save men from the petrifier.
2002 Guardian 9 Nov. (Guide Suppl.) 17 Can the boy wizard defeat the spectral petrifier at Hogwarts?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1794