harbinger

English

WOTD – 26 March 2007

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

Originally, a person that is sent in advance to arrange lodgings. From Middle English herbergeour, from Old French herbergeor (French hébergeur), from Frankish *heriberga (“lodging, inn”, literally “army shelter”), from Proto-Germanic *harjaz (“army”) + *bergô (“protection”). Compare German Herberge, Italian albergo, Dutch herberg, English harbor. More at here, borrow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːbɪndʒə/
• enPR: härʹbĭnjər, IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹbɪndʒəɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

harbinger (plural harbingers)

1. A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something.
   • Landor

     I knew by these harbingers who were coming.

2. (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.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)

Synonyms

• forewarning, herald, omen, premonition, sign, signal, prophet

Translations

that which foretells the coming of something

• Bulgarian: предвестник (bg) m (predvestnik)
• Catalan: anunciador m, herald m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 預兆／预兆 (zh) (yùzhào), 预兆 (zh) (yùzhào)

• Czech: zvěstovatel m
• Dutch: voorbode (nl) m
• Finnish: airut (fi)
• French: présage (fr) m
• German: (person) Vorbote (de) m, (thing) Omen (de) n, Vorzeichen (de) n
• Greek: προάγγελος (el) m (proángelos), πρόδρομος (el) m (pródromos)
• Hungarian: előjel (hu), előfutár (hu)
• Icelandic: boðberi (is) m, fyrirboði (is) m, undanfari m
• Irish: réamhtheachtaire m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: (person) messaggero (it) m, araldo (it) m, (thing) presagio (it) m, precursore (it), foriero (it), profeta (it) m, premonitore m, premonitrice f
• Japanese: 前触れ (まえぶれ, maebure)
• Korean: 선구자 (ko) (seon'guja), 전조 (ko) (jeonjo)
• Latin: praenuntius m
• Polish: zwiastun (pl) m
• Portuguese: arauto (pt) pl
• Russian: провозве́стник (ru) m (provozvéstnik), предве́стник (ru) m (predvéstnik)
• Serbo-Croatian: predšasnik (sh), najava (sh), navesnik, nagovest, nagoveštaj (sh)
• Spanish: anunciador (es) m, anunciante m, heraldo m
• Swedish: förebud (sv), förlöpare
• Welsh: cennad m, rhagredegydd m

Further reading

• Template:projectlink

Verb

harbinger (third-person singular simple present harbingers, present participle harbingering, simple past and past participle harbingered)

1. (transitive) To announce or precede; to be a harbinger of.

Synonyms

• herald

Translations

to announce

• Bulgarian: предвещавам (bg) (predveštavam)
• Catalan: anunciar (ca)
• Czech: zvěstovat impf, věstit impf
• Dutch: aankondigen (nl)
• French: annoncer (fr), présager (fr)
• German: ankündigen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: προαναγγέλλω (el) (proanangéllo)
• Italian: annunciare (it), presagire (it), premonire (it), profetizzare
• Norwegian: innvarsle
• Russian: предвеща́ть (ru) (predveščátʹ)
• Spanish: anunciar (es)
• Swedish: förebåda (sv), varsla (sv)

See also

• bellwether

References

• “harbinger”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.