oracular

English

WOTD – 28 October 2009

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French oraculaire

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɒɹˈæk.juː.lə/, /ɔːˈɹæk.juː.lə/
• IPA^(key): /ɔˈɹæk.ju.lɚ/, /ɔˈɹæk.jə.lɚ/

Adjective

oracular

1. Of or relating to an oracle.
   • 1810, Sir Walter Scott, Lady of the Lake

     In some of the Hebrides they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with.

   • 2006, Lisa Hill, The Passionate Society: the social, political and moral thought of Adam Ferguson

     Ferguson's sin consisted in his oracular 'unmasking' of a 'second-rate sort of society, full of second rate citizens, pursuing comparatively worthless objects.'

2. Prophetic, foretelling the future.
   • 1963, Ivo Andrić, Bosnian Chronicle, translated by Joseph Hitrec, New York: Arcade, 1993, Chapter 26, p. 402,

     It was one of those dire oracular pronouncements that Marko made from time to time, which were afterwards spread from mouth to mouth among the Serbs.

3. Wise, authoritative.
   • 1844, William Makepeace Thackeray, Barry Lyndon

     My Lord Chatham, whose wisdom his party in those days used to call superhuman, raised his oracular voice in the House of Peers against the American contest;

4. Ambiguous, hard to interpret.
   • 1754, Horace Walpole, letter to John Chute

     Nothing offended me but that lisping Miss Haughton, whose every speech is inarticulately oracular.

   • 1895, Andrew Dickson White, History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom

     This utterance was admirably oracular, being susceptible of cogent quotation by both sides […]

Related terms

• oracle

Translations

of or relating to an oracle

• Finnish: oraakkelimainen (fi)
• German: orakelhaft, orakelmäßig
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: μαντικός (el) m (mantikós)
• Portuguese: oracular

prophetic, foretelling the future

• Armenian: մարգարեական (hy) (margareakan)
• Finnish: oraakkelimainen (fi)
• German: orakelhaft, orakelmäßig
• Greek: προφητικός (el) m (profitikós)

  Ancient: χρηστήριος (khrēstḗrios)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: oracular
• Russian: пророческий (ru) (proročeskij), ве́щий (ru) (véščij)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: zwěšćelowarski

ambiguous, hard to interpret

• Armenian: առեղծվածային (hy) (aṙeġcvacayin), հանելուկային (hy) (hanelukayin)
• Finnish: oraakkelimainen (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: αμφίσημος (el) m (amfísimos), αινιγματικός (el) m (ainigmatikós)
• Russian: зага́дочный (ru) (zagádočnyj), двусмы́сленный (ru) (dvusmýslennyj)

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Portuguese

Adjective

1. (mysticism) oracular (of or relating to an oracle)
2. oracular (prophetic; foretelling the future)

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Spanish

Adjective

oracular m or f (masculine and feminine plural oraculares)

1. oracular