Sibyl

¹ American  

[sib-uhl] / ˈsɪb əl /

Or Sibylle

noun

1. a female given name.

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sibyl ² American  

[sib-uhl] / ˈsɪb əl /

noun

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

2. a female prophet or witch.

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sibyl British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• sibylline adjective

Etymology

Origin of sibyl

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

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From 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.

From New York Times

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.

From Project Gutenberg

I tell you, the woman is a sibyl, a witch.

From Project Gutenberg