portend

English

Etymology

From the Latin portendere (“to foretell”), from por- (“forward”) + tendere (“to stretch”), present active infinitive of tendo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pɔːˈtɛnd/, SAMPA: /pO:"tEnd/

Verb

portend (third-person singular simple present portends, present participle portending, simple past and past participle portended)

1. (transitive) to serve as a warning or omen

   A kingdom they portend thee, but what kingdom, / Real or allegoric, I discern not; Nor when: eternal sure--as without end, - John Milton, Paradise Lost

2. (transitive) to signify; to denote

   Let it be known that the Rapture portends the End of Days.

Related terms

• portent
• portentous

Translations

to serve as a warning or omen

Finnish: tietää (fi)

German: ankündigen (de), vorbedeuten (de), vorhersagen (de)

to signify

Finnish: merkitä (fi)

German: deuten (de), hindeuten (de), hinweisen (de),

See also

• harbinger