Sybil

English

Noun

Sybil (plural Sybils)

1. Prophetess; hag.

   Alternative form: sybil

   • 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 90:

     The Library looked tranquil enough as I entered it, and the Sybil—if Sybil she were, was seated snugly enough in an easy chair at the chimney-corner.

2. (computer security) Ellipsis of Sybil attack.

Proper noun

Sybil

1. A female given name from Ancient Greek, the most popular spelling variant of Sibyl since the 19th century.
   • 1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, Book 3, Chapter 5:

     "I beg your pardon," said Egremont blushing; "I was reading your name. I thought I was reading it to myself. Sybil Gerard! What a beautiful name is Sybil!" "My mother's name," said Gerard; "and my grandame's name, and a name I believe that has been about our hearth as long as our race; and that's a very long time indeed," he added smiling, "for we were tall men in King John's reign, as I have heard say."

Derived terms

• Sybil attack

Translations

female given name — see Sibyl

Anagrams

• Sibyl, sibyl