sibyl

¹ 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 ² American  

[sib-uhl] / ˈsɪb əl /

Or Sibylle

noun

1. a female given name.

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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

Called “The Four Sibyls,” the frescoes depict the female seers of ancient Greek and Roman mythology, including the Roman, Cumaean, Erythraean and Delphic sibyls.

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

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

From Literature

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

From Literature

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