Sibyl

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sibyl \Sib"yl\, n. [L. sibylla, Gr. ????.]
     1. (Class. Antiq.) A woman supposed to be endowed with a
        spirit of prophecy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The number of the sibyls is variously stated by


           different authors; but the opinion of Varro, that there
           were ten, is generally adopted. They dwelt in various
           parts of Persia, Greece, and Italy.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A female fortune teller; a pythoness; a prophetess. "An
        old highland sibyl." --Sir W. Scott.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sibyl
       n 1: a woman who tells fortunes
       2: (ancient Rome) a woman who was regarded as an oracle or
          prophet