py·tho·ness

(pī′thə-nĭs, pĭth′ə-)

1. Greek Mythology A priestess of Apollo at Delphi.

2. A prophetess.

[Middle English phitonesse, from Old French phitonise, from Late Latin pȳthonissa, from Greek Pūthōn, Python; see Python¹.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pythoness

(ˈpaɪθəˌnɛs)

1. (Classical Myth & Legend) a woman, such as Apollo's priestess at Delphi, believed to be possessed by an oracular spirit

2. (Classical Myth & Legend) a female soothsayer

[C14 phitonesse, ultimately from Greek Puthōn Python]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

py•tho•ness

(ˈpaɪ θə nɪs, ˈpɪθ ə-)

n.

a woman believed to be possessed by a soothsaying spirit.

[1350–1400; Middle English phytonesse (< Middle French phitonise) < Medieval Latin phitōnissa, Late Latin (Vulgate) pȳthōnissa, feminine derivative of pȳthōn < Greek pneûma pýthōna spirit of divination (NT), Pýthōnes ventriloquists (Plutarch), obscurely akin to Pȳthṓ(n) Delphi (compare Pythian)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	pythoness - a witch with powers of divination witch - a being (usually female) imagined to have special powers derived from the devil
	2.	Pythoness - (Greek mythology) the priestess of Apollo at Delphi who transmitted the oracles Pythia Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks

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References in classic literature

Maggie tossed her hair back and ran downstairs, seized her bonnet without putting it on, peeped, and then dashed along the passage lest she should encounter her mother, and was quickly out in the yard, whirling round like a Pythoness, and singing as she whirled, "Yap, Yap, Tom's coming home!" while Yap danced and barked round her, as much as to say, if there was any noise wanted he was the dog for it.

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Albert, without knowing why, started on hearing these words pronounced with such a haughty and dignified accent; it appeared to him as if there was something supernaturally gloomy and terrible in the expression which gleamed from the brilliant eyes of Haidee at this moment; she appeared like a Pythoness evoking a spectre, as she recalled to his mind the remembrance of the fearful death of this man, to the news of which all Europe had listened with horror.

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BROOKLYN BRIDGE Pythoness body--arching Over the night like an ecstasy-- I feel your coils tightening ...

Lola Ridge and the Literary Soiree

The incomparable bronze serpents with the golden tripod and the seat where the Pythoness had sat over the mysterious chasm was removed by Constantine and placed as an ornament to decorate the Hippodrome in Constantinople.

Delphi: the navel of the ancient world and its oracle

Meanwhile, their choice of letters importantly counterbalances previous scholarly depictions of Stoddard as a "caricature"--especially the tart-tongued "pythoness"--rather than as a complex woman who played multiple epistolary roles (xiv).

The Selected Letters of Elizabeth Stoddard