oracle
/ˈɔɹəkəl/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms oracles oracling oracled
- 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 (figuratively, archaic) Something said that must come true or cannot be countermanded; an inexorable command or declaration.
- noun A person considered to be a source of wisdom. “a literary oracle”
- noun A wise sentence or decision of great authority.
- noun A fortune-teller.
- noun One who communicates a divine command; an angel; a prophet.
- verb (obsolete) To utter oracles or prophecies.
- proper noun (computing) A database management system (and its associated software) developed by the Oracle Corporation
Synonyms
prophet expert ariolater Chaldean clairvoyant divinator diviner duckerer foreteller fortuneteller precog precognitive predictor prognosticator pythonist scryer seer soothsayer sortilegus spaer prophesier vaticinator
Etymology
From Middle English oracle, from Old French oracle m, from Latin ōrāculum n.
Webster’s 1913
- 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 Hence: The deity who was supposed to give the answer; also, the place where it was given.
- verb To utter oracles. [Obs.]
Etymology [F., fr. L. oraculum, fr. orare to speak, utter, pray, fr. os, oris, mouth. See Oral.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “oracle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details