harbinger
UK /ˈhɑːbɪndʒə/ · US /ˈhɑɹ.bɪn.d͡ʒəɹ/ noun, verb
Forms harbingers harbingering harbingered
- noun A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something. “harbinger of danger; harbinger of doom; harbinger of spring”
- noun (obsolete) One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when travelling, to provide and prepare lodgings.
- verb (transitive) To announce or precede; to be a harbinger of.
Synonyms
forewarning herald omen premonition sign signal prophet precursor forerunner predecessor announce annunciate foretell
Etymology
Originally, a person sent in advance to arrange lodgings. From Middle English herberjour, herbergeour, from Old French herbergeor (French hébergeur), from herbergier (“to set up camp; to shelter; to take shelter”) + -or (suffix forming agent nouns), from Old High German heribergan, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army camp, shelter”). Compare German Herberge, Italian albergo, Dutch herberg, English harbor. More at here, bury.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when traveling, to provide and prepare lodgings. Fuller.
- noun A forerunner; a precursor; a messenger.
- verb To usher in; to be a harbinger of. "Thus did the star of religious freedom harbinger the day." Bancroft.
Etymology [OE. herbergeour, OF. herbergeor one who provides lodging, fr. herbergier to provide lodging, F. héberger, OF. herberge lodging, inn, F. auberge; of German origin. See Harbor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “harbinger”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details