augur

See also: Augur

English

WOTD – 13 May 2009

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin augur, of uncertain origin; akin to augurō (“interpret omens”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔː.ɡə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.ɡɚ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.ɡɚ/

• Audio (US cot-caught merger):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːɡə(ɹ)
• Homophone: auger; see also AGA

Noun

augur (plural augurs)

1. A diviner who foretells events by the behaviour of birds or other animals, or by signs derived from celestial phenomena, or unusual occurrences.
   • Template:RQ:Dryden Iliad
2. (Ancient Rome) An official who interpreted omens before the start of public events.
   • 1776 Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1—pt ii:

     It was an ancient tradition, that when the Capitol was founded by one of the Roman kings, the god Terminus (who presided over boundaries, and was represented, according to the fashion of that age, by a large stone) alone, among all the inferior deities, refused to yield his place to Jupiter himself. A favorable inference was drawn from his obstinacy, which was interpreted by the augurs as a sure presage that the boundaries of the Roman power would never recede.

Translations

diviner who foretells events by unusual occurrences

• Albanian: faltore (sq)
• Bulgarian: птицегадател (pticegadatel)
• Czech: : augur (cs) m, ptakopravec m
• Dutch: waarzegger (nl) m, wichelaar (nl) m
• Esperanto: aŭguristo
• Finnish: ennustaja (fi), auguuri (fi)
• French: augure (fr) m
• Galician: augur m
• Georgian: მისანი (ka) (misani)
• German: Augur (de) m, Wahrsager (de) m, Hellseher (de) m
• Hungarian: augur
• Ido: auguristo (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: ágar m
• Italian: augure (it) m
• Latin: augur m, auspex m
• Maori: matakite, matatuhi
• Persian: فالگیر (fa) (fālgīr), مروانیش (morvāniš)
• Polish: augur (pl) m, wróżbita (pl) m, wróżbitka (pl) f
• Portuguese: áugure m or f
• Russian: авгу́р (ru) m (avgúr), прорица́тель (ru) m (proricátelʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: fiosaiche m, eun-druidh m
• Spanish: augur (es) m
• Turkish: falcı (tr), kâhin (tr)

Ancient Rome

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: augur (pl) m

Verb

augur (third-person singular simple present augurs, present participle auguring, simple past and past participle augured)

1. To foretell events; to exhibit signs of future events; to indicate a favorable or an unfavorable outcome.

   to augur well or ill

Derived terms

• augury

Translations

to foretell events; to exhibit signs of future events

• Bulgarian: предсказвам (bg) (predskazvam), предвещавам (bg) (predveštavam)
• Czech: věštit, věstit
• Dutch: waarzeggen (nl), voorspellen (nl)
• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)
• French: augurer (fr)
• Galician: agoirar (gl)
• Georgian: მისნობა (misnoba)
• German: die Zukunft vorhersagen, wahrsagen (de), hellsehen
• Hungarian: jósol (hu)
• Ido: augurar (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: augurare (it)
• Latin: augurō
• Polish: wróżyć (pl), przepowiadać (pl), zapowiadać (pl)
• Portuguese: augurar (pt), pressagiar (pt)
• Russian: предвеща́ть (ru) (predveščátʹ), предска́зывать (ru) (predskázyvatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: fàisnich
• Spanish: augurar (es), presagiar (es)
• Swedish: båda (sv)
• Turkish: fal bakmak

Further reading

• “augur”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “augur”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “augur”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

---

Latin

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. Two possibilities are:

• From Old Latin *augos (“increase”) (genitive *augeris), which is related to augeō (“to increase”). This could be inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwgos; compare Sanskrit ओजस् (ojas, “strength, vigor”), Avestan 𐬀𐬊𐬘𐬀𐬵 (aojah), 𐬀𐬊𐬔𐬀𐬵 (aogah, “might, power”) as well as Latin augustus (< *h₂éwgos-).
• From avis (“bird”) + garrire (“to talk”), as augurs were known to observe the behavior of birds.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.ɡur/, [ˈäu̯ɡʊr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.ɡur/, [ˈäːu̯ɡur]

Noun

augur m or f (genitive auguris); third declension

1. augur (priest, diviner, or soothsayer, one who foretold the future in part by interpreting the song and flight of birds)
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.179-180:

     ad prīmam vōcem timidās advertitis aurēs,
     et vīsam prīmum cōnsulit augur avem.

     Your turn timid ears to the first word spoken,
     and the augur interprets the first bird seen.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	augur	augurēs
Genitive	auguris	augurum
Dative	augurī	auguribus
Accusative	augurem	augurēs
Ablative	augure	auguribus
Vocative	augur	augurēs

Synonyms

• auspex

Derived terms

• augurium
• augurō

Descendants

• → Catalan: àugur
• → English: augur
  • → Irish: ágar
• → French: augure
• → Ancient Greek: αὔγουρ (aúgour)
• → Italian: augure

• → Portuguese: áugure
• → Romanian: augur
• → Russian: авгу́р m (avgúr)
• → Sicilian: àuguri
• → Spanish: augur

References

• “augur”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “augur”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• augur in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “augur”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “augur”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• “augur”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

---

Middle English

Noun

augur

1. Alternative form of nauger

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin augur.

Noun

augur m (definite singular auguren, indefinite plural augurer, definite plural augurene)

1. (historical) an augur, see English augur for more.
2. (informal) a chief, bigwig

References

• “augur” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “augur” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin augur.

Noun

augur m (definite singular auguren, indefinite plural augurar, definite plural augurane)

1. (historical) an augur, see English augur for more.
2. (informal) a chief, bigwig

References

• “augur” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin augur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.ɡur/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awɡur
• Syllabification: au‧gur

Noun

augur m pers

1. (literary) augur (a diviner)
2. (Ancient Rome) augur (an official who interpreted omens before the start of public events)

Declension

Declension of augur

	singular	plural
nominative	augur	augurzy/augury (deprecative)
genitive	augura	augurów
dative	augurowi	augurom
accusative	augura	augurów
instrumental	augurem	augurami
locative	augurze	augurach
vocative	augurze	augurzy

Further reading

• augur in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• augur in Polish dictionaries at PWN

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French augure, from Latin augur, augurium.

Noun

augur m (plural auguri)

1. augur, auspex

Noun

augur n (uncountable)

1. augury, omen

Related terms

• augura

---

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin augur.

Noun

augur m (plural augures)

1. augur

Related terms

• agorar
• agüero
• augural
• augurar
• augurio

 

Further reading

• “augur”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014