oracle

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A shrine consecrated to the worship and consultation of a prophetic deity, as that of Apollo at Delphi.
• noun A person, such as a priestess, through whom a deity is held to respond when consulted.
• noun The response given through such a medium, often in the form of an enigmatic statement or allegory.
• noun A person considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinions.
• noun An authoritative or wise statement or prediction.
• noun A command or revelation from God.
• noun In the Bible, the sanctuary of the Temple.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To utter oracles.
• noun In classical antiquity: An utterance given by a priest or priestess of a god, in the name of the god and, as was believed, by his inspiration, in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event, as the success of an enterprise or battle, or some proposed line of conduct.
• noun The deity who was supposed to give such answers to inquiries.
• noun The place where oracular answers were given; the sanctuary, temple, or adytum whence the supposed supernatural responses proceeded.
• noun Hence, by extension — The communications, revelations, or instruction delivered by God to or through his prophets: rarely used in the singular: as, the oracles of God; the divine oracles.
• noun The sanctuary or most holy place in the temple, in which was deposited the ark of the covenant (1 Ki. vi. 19): sometimes used for the temple itself.
• noun A source or repository of the divine will that may be consulted or drawn upon.
• noun An uncommonly wise person, whose opinions are of great authority, and whose determinations are not disputed.
• noun A wise saying or an authoritative decision given by such a person.
• noun Something that is looked upon as an infallible guide or standard of reference.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The answer of a god, or some person reputed to be a god, to an inquiry respecting some affair or future event, as the success of an enterprise or battle.
• noun The deity who was supposed to give the answer; also, the place where it was given.
• noun The communications, revelations, or messages delivered by God to the prophets; also, the entire sacred Scriptures -- usually in the plural.
• noun (Jewish Antiq.) The sanctuary, or Most Holy place in the temple; also, the temple itself.
• noun One who communicates an oracle{1} or divine command; an angel; a prophet.
• noun Any person reputed uncommonly wise; one whose decisions are regarded as of great authority.
• noun A wise pronouncement or decision considered as of great authority.
• intransitive verb obsolete To utter oracles.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.
• noun A person such as a priest through whom the deity is supposed to respond with prophecy or advice.
• noun A prophetic response, often enigmatic or allegorical, so given.
• noun A person considered to be a source of wisdom.
• noun computing theory A theoretical entity capable of answering some collection of questions.
• verb obsolete To utter oracles or prophecies.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an authoritative person who divines the future
• noun a shrine where an oracular god is consulted
• noun a prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical) revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be infallible