Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One of a number of women regarded as oracles or prophets by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
- noun A woman prophet.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In anc. myth., one of certain women reputed to possess special powers of prophecy or divination and intercession with the gods in behalf of those who resorted to them.
- noun Hence An old woman professing to be a prophetess or fortune-teller; a sorceress.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Class. Antiq.) A woman supposed to be endowed with a spirit of prophecy.
- noun A female fortune teller; a pythoness; a prophetess.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A pagan female
oracle orprophetess , especially the Cumaean sibyl.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (ancient Rome) a woman who was regarded as an oracle or prophet
- noun a woman who tells fortunes
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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But who does not know that the power of the sibyl is doubled by the opposition of sex?
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The group of rappellers, called Operation Sibyl - in ancient Greece, a sibyl was a fortuneteller - but also known as the Plaza Four, said they had had a tough 25 hours in jail before they were arraigned on felony and misdemeanor charges of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.
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This corpse, this woman -- proclaim it to every one -- the sibyl was my mother yes, yes, my own mother!
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He beckoned to them, and while he went from one to another, saying: "The sibyl was my mother -- Zorrillo has murdered my mother," the coffin was borne into the house.
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It seemed to him that among the Christians Lygia was a kind of sibyl or priestess whom they surrounded with obedience and honor; and he yielded himself also to that honor.
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The eternally young, fertile bride; the ancient, barren spinster; the siren; the sibyl—she was all these things, all at once, his beloved, the one for whom he denied himself the companionship of mere mortal company, against whom even the breathtaking Muriel Chanler paled.
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Along the way, he meets a sibyl named Hahn who is unable to go herself but would like someone to find her daughter, another sibyl who ran away to World's End.
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The eternally young, fertile bride; the ancient, barren spinster; the siren; the sibyl—she was all these things, all at once, his beloved, the one for whom he denied himself the companionship of mere mortal company, against whom even the breathtaking Muriel Chanler paled.
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Along the way, he meets a sibyl named Hahn who is unable to go herself but would like someone to find her daughter, another sibyl who ran away to World's End.
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But no lightbulbs appeared over my head, no sibyl sang her song for me.
treeseed commented on the word sibyl
In many cases supernatural, mythical beings or humans born of such beings who have the gift or curse of prophesy.
February 18, 2008