Pythia

American  

[pith-ee-uh] / ˈpɪθ i ə /

noun

Greek Mythology.

1. the priestess of Apollo at Delphi who delivered the oracles.

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Pythia British  

/ ˈpɪθɪə /

noun

1. Greek myth the priestess of Apollo at Delphi, who transmitted the oracles

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Etymology

Origin of Pythia

< Latin Pȳthia < Greek Pȳthía, feminine of Pȳthiós Pythian

Example Sentences

Nearly 2,000 miles away, in Washington state, a woman named Pythia Serpentis investigated, too.

From Slate • Sep. 3, 2020

It can provide data from which we can make guesses about the correct courses of action, but it is not a lab-coated Pythia telling us the future.

From Fox News • May 5, 2020

She has called the work Pythia – the name of the prophetic priestess at ancient Delphi, itself derived from the Greek word pytho, or snake, which had supposedly been slain there by Apollo.

From The Guardian • Mar. 22, 2018

We don’t know if Leonidas’s performance was enhanced by ingestion of Pythia gases or black henbane because no records survive from the ancient version of the Greek antidoping agency.

From New York Times • Aug. 13, 2016

I knew the Pythia had chewed laurel leaves, but that didn’t work either.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt