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View synonyms for sibyl

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
“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
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Derived Forms

  • sibylline, adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sibyl1

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

Origin of sibyl1

C13: ultimately from Greek Sibulla, of obscure origin
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Example Sentences

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

Why did he go to so much trouble when the finished sibyl is mostly clothed and must be viewed from a considerable distance below?

But not even a sibyl could have made sense of those tiny scraps of paper.

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.

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

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