sibyl

¹

[sib-uhl]

noun

1. any of certain women of antiquity reputed to possess powers of prophecy or divination.

2. a female prophet or witch.

Sibyl

²

Or Sib·ylle

[sib-uhl]

noun

1. a female given name.

sibyl

/ ˈsɪbɪˌlaɪn, sɪˈbɪlaɪn, ˈsɪbɪl, sɪˈbɪlɪk /

noun

1. (in ancient Greece and Rome) any of a number of women believed to be oracles or prophetesses, one of the most famous being the sibyl of Cumae, who guided Aeneas through the underworld

2. a witch, fortune-teller, or sorceress

Other Word Forms

• sibylline adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sibyl¹

1250–1300; < Greek Síbylla Sibylla; replacing Middle English Sibil < Medieval Latin Sibilla < Greek, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of sibyl¹

C13: ultimately from Greek Sibulla, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

“It is an amazing thing that we can become so interested in art discussion that our ‘sibyl war’ has widened art appreciation,” Dunlap wrote in 1934 before stepping down as president because of the controversy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It was deemed a line straight to God — staggering, the voice of an enchantress, a sibyl, a siren.

Read more on Washington Post

Since the mid-1980s, Ms. Cook has reigned as a kind of sibyl channeling the wisdom and humanity of the American songbook, particularly as embodied in the work of Stephen Sondheim.

Read more on New York Times

“A sibyl of a medieval nun. She has guided my life.”

Read more on Literature

In the recesses between the prophets and sibyls are a series of lovely family groups representing the Genealogy of the Virgin, and expressive of calm expectation of the future.

Read more on Project Gutenberg