Sib (?), n. [AS. sibb alliance, gesib a relative. √289. See
Gossip.] A blood relation. [Obs.] Nash.
Sib, a. Related by blood; akin. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Sir W.
Scott.
Your kindred is but . . . little sib to you.
Chaucer.
[He] is no fairy birn, ne sib at all To elfs, but sprung of seed
terrestrial.
Spenser.
Sib"bens (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Med.) A contagious disease,
endemic in Scotland, resembling the yaws. It is marked by ulceration of
the throat and nose and by pustules and soft fungous excrescences upon
the surface of the body. In the Orkneys the name is applied to the
itch. [Written also sivvens.]
Si*be"ri*an (?), a. [From Siberia, Russ. Sibire.] Of or pertaining to
Siberia, a region comprising all northern Asia and belonging to Russia;
as, a Siberian winter. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Siberia.
Siberian crab (Bot.), the Siberian crab apple. See Crab apple, under
Crab. -- Siberian dog (Zoöl.), one of a large breed of dogs having
erect ears and the hair of the body and tail very long. It is
distinguished for endurance of fatigue when used for the purpose of
draught. -- Siberian pea tree (Bot.), a small leguminous tree (Cragana
arborescens) with yellow flowers. It is a native of Siberia.
{ Sib"i*lance (?), Sib"i*lan*cy (?), } n. The quality or state of being
sibilant; sibilation.
Milton would not have avoided them for their sibilancy, he who
wrote . . . verses that hiss like Medusa's head in wrath.
Lowell.
Sib"i*lant (?), a. [L. sibilans, -antis, p. pr. of sibilare to hiss:
cf. F. sibilant.] Making a hissing sound; uttered with a hissing sound;
hissing; as, s, z, sh, and zh, are sibilant elementary sounds. -- n. A
sibiliant letter.
Sib"i*late (?), v. t. & i. To pronounce with a hissing sound, like that
of the letter s; to mark with a character indicating such
pronunciation.
Sib`i*la"tion (?), n. [L. sibilatio.] Utterance with a hissing sound;
also, the sound itself; a hiss.
He, with a long, low sibilation, stared.
Tennyson.
Sib"i*la*to*ry (?), a. Hissing; sibilant.
Sib"i*lous (?), a. [L. sibilus.] Having a hissing sound; hissing;
sibilant. [R.] Pennant.
Sib"yl (?), n. [L. sibylla, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;.] 1. (Class. Antiq.) A
woman supposed to be endowed with a spirit of prophecy.
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.
2. A female fortune teller; a pythoness; a prophetess. "An old highland
sibyl." Sir W. Scott.
Sib"yl*ist, n. One who believes in a sibyl or the sibylline prophecies.
Cudworth.
Sib"yl*line (?), a. [L. sibyllinus.] Pertaining to the sibyls; uttered,
written, or composed by sibyls; like the productions of sibyls.
Sibylline books. (a) (Rom. Antiq.) Books or documents of prophecies in
verse concerning the fate of the Roman empire, said to have been
purchased by Tarquin the Proud from a sibyl. (b) Certain Jewish and
early Christian writings purporting to have been prophetic and of
sibylline origin. They date from 100 b. c. to a. d. 500.