sibylline

American  

[sib-uh-leen, -lahyn, -lin] / ˈsɪb əˌlin, -ˌlaɪn, -lɪn /

Also sibylic,

adjective

1. of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.

2. mysterious; cryptic.

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Etymology

Origin of sibylline

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin Sibyllīnus “pertaining to a sibyl”; see origin at sibyl, -ine ¹

Explanation

The adjective sibylline means "having a secret meaning" or "foretelling the future," like a fortune teller whose crystal ball reveals a sibylline message about what will happen. If you can predict the meaning of the word sibylline, you may come from a family of psychics — or you may have a background in Greek mythology. The word has origins in the Greek word Sibulla, meaning "prophetess." Back in the times of the Greeks and Romans, a sibyl was a female oracle who delivered cryptic prophecies foretelling the future, often inspired by the deities. The adjective sibylline describes such talents or the messages they reveal.

Example Sentences

It is as old as the sibylline books.

From The Guardian • Dec. 1, 2016

Also because I was influenced by a late-blooming acquaintance with Wagner operas, discovering that their aesthetic, which I had assumed to be bombastic, really relies on sibylline continuities.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 3, 2016

Mr. Jeremiah also brought impressive power and intensity to Moto Osada’s sibylline “Four Nights of Dream,” the only opera with a male protagonist.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2012

In San Francisco as an apostle of Culture in behalf of the Container Corporation of America, Communications Prophet Marshall McLuhan, 55, whose sibylline pronouncements have so often been models of noncommunication, explained the McLuhan phenomenon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Eying Mercy from the door of her den, the old hag thought her appearance indicated one quite able to afford a fee, and proportionate to the idea was the sibylline wrath.

From Trevethlan: (Vol 2 of 3) A Cornish Story. by Watson, William Davy