pythoness

[pahy-thuh-nis, pith-uh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pythoness ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a woman believed to be possessed by a soothsaying spirit, as the priestess of Apollo at Delphi.

a woman who practices divination.

RELATED WORDS

siren, sibyl, hex, hag, witch

Origin of pythoness

1325–75; python² + -ess; replacing Middle English phytonesse < Middle French

Usage note

See -ess.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pythoness

Historical Examples of pythoness

Will it be said that there was any collusion between St. Paul and the Pythoness?
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
Her attitudes, it was once said, were those of "a Pythoness cast in bronze."
Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 8 (of 8)
Various
It was a pythoness from Syria that advised Marius on the sacrifices he was to perform.
The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism
Franz Cumont
Lynette said, without removing her fascinated eyes from the Pythoness.
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves
I am sorry for this his incurable passion to play the Pythoness.
Diary from March 4, 1861, to November 12, 1862
Adam Gurowski

British Dictionary definitions for pythoness

pythoness

noun

a woman, such as Apollo's priestess at Delphi, believed to be possessed by an oracular spirit

a female soothsayer

Word Origin for pythoness

C14 phitonesse, ultimately from Greek Puthōn Python

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pythoness

late 14c., "woman with the power of soothsaying," from Old French phitonise (13c.), from Late Latin pythonissa, used in Vulgate of the Witch of Endor (I Sam. xxviii:7), and often treated as her proper name, literally fem. of pytho "familiar spirit;" which ultimately is connected with the title of the prophetess of the Delphic Oracle, Greek pythia hiereia, from Pythios, an epithet of Apollo, from Pytho, older name of the region of Delphi (see python).