Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SIB'YL, n. [from the L.]

In pagan antiquity, the Sibyls were certain women said to be endowed with a prophetic spirit. Their number is variously stated; but the opinion of Varro, who states them to have been ten, is generally adopted. They resided in various parts of Persia, Greece and Italy. It is pretended that they wrote certain prophecies on leaves in verse, which are called Sibylline verses, or Sibylline oracles. – Lempriere.