pythoness
[pahy-thuh-nis, pith-uh-]
- a woman believed to be possessed by a soothsaying spirit, as the priestess of Apollo at Delphi.
- a woman who practices divination.
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Origin of pythoness
Usage note
See -ess.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pythoness
Historical Examples
Will it be said that there was any collusion between St. Paul and the Pythoness?
The Phantom WorldAugustin Calmet
Her attitudes, it was once said, were those of "a Pythoness cast in bronze."
It was a pythoness from Syria that advised Marius on the sacrifices he was to perform.
The Oriental Religions in Roman PaganismFranz Cumont
Lynette said, without removing her fascinated eyes from the Pythoness.
The Dop DoctorClotilde Inez Mary Graves
I am sorry for this his incurable passion to play the Pythoness.
Diary from March 4, 1861, to November 12, 1862Adam Gurowski
pythoness
- a woman, such as Apollo's priestess at Delphi, believed to be possessed by an oracular spirit
- a female soothsayer
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Word Origin
C14 phitonesse, ultimately from Greek Puthōn Python
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pythoness
n.
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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper