predict

English

Alternative forms

• prædict (archaic)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

Early 17th century, from Latin praedīcere (“to mention beforehand”) (perfect passive participle praedictus), from prae (“before”) + dīcere (“to say”). Cognate to predicate. Equivalent to Germanic forespeak, foretell.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈdɪkt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkt

Verb

predict (third-person singular simple present predicts, present participle predicting, simple past and past participle predicted)

1. (transitive) To make a prediction: to forecast, foretell, or estimate a future event on the basis of knowledge and reasoning; to prophesy a future event on the basis of mystical knowledge or power.
   • 1590, E. Daunce, A Briefe Discourse on the Spanish State, 40

     After he had renounced his fathers bishoprick of Valentia in Spaine... and to attaine by degrees the Maiesty of Cesar, was created Duke of that place, gaue for his poesie, Aut Cesar, aut nihil. which being not fauoured from the heauens, had presently the euent the same predicted.

   • 2000, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, xiii.

     Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying.

   • 2012, Jeremy Bernstein, "A Palette of Particles" in American Scientist, Vol. 100, No. 2, p. 146

     The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier.

2. (transitive, of theories, laws, etc.) To imply.
   • 1886, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 177. 338

     It is interesting to see how clearly theory predicts the difference between the ascending and descending curves of a dynamo.

3. (intransitive) To make predictions.
   • 1652, J. Gaule, Πυς-μαντια the mag-astro-mancer, 196

     The devil can both predict and make predictors.

4. (transitive, military, rare) To direct a ranged weapon against a target by means of a predictor.
   • 1943, L. Cheshire, Bomber Pilot, iii. 57

     They're predicting us now; looks like a barrage.

Synonyms

• foretell, forespell, forespeak, halsen

Related terms

• predictability
• predictable
• predictably
• prediction
• predictive
• predictively
• predictiveness
• predictor

 

Translations

to state, or make something known in advance

• Arabic: تَنَبَّأَ (tanabbaʔa)
• Armenian: կանխատեսել (hy) (kanxatesel)
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: predir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 預測／预测 (zh) (yùcè), 预测 (zh) (yùcè), 預言／预言 (zh) (yùyán), 预言 (zh) (yùyán)

• Czech: předpovídat (cs), předpovědět, předvídat (cs)
• Dutch: voorspellen (nl)
• Estonian: ennustama
• Finnish: ennakoida (fi), ennustaa (fi)
• French: prédire (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: vorhersagen (de)
• Greek: προβλέπω (el) (provlépo)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: spá (is)
• Ido: predicar (io)
• Interlingua: predicer
• Irish: tuar (ga), réamhaithris
• Italian: predire (it)
• Japanese: 予言する (ja) (よげんする, yogen suru)
• Khmer: ចាប់យាម (cap yiem), ទាយ (km) (tiey)
• Korean: 예언하다 (ko) (yeeonhada)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: praeloquor, praedico (la), ōminor, cano (la)
• Latvian: paredzēt (lv)
• Macedonian: предвидува impf (predviduva), предвиди pf (predvidi)
• Maori: matakite, matapae
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spå

• Old Norse: spá
• Persian: پیشگویی (fa)
• Polish: przewidywać (pl), przewidzieć (pl)
• Portuguese: predizer (pt)
• Romanian: prezice (ro)
• Russian: предска́зывать (ru) impf (predskázyvatʹ), предсказа́ть (ru) pf (predskazátʹ)
• Scots: spae
• Serbo-Croatian: predvidjeti (sh), prognozirati (sh), predskazati (sh)
• Spanish: predecir (es)
• Swahili: bashiri (sw)
• Swedish: förutsäga (sv), spå (sv), sia (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: передбачувати impf (peredbačuvaty), передбачити pf (peredbačyty)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: büosagön (vo)

to foretell or prophesy

• Egyptian: (sr)
• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)
• French: prédire (fr)
• German: prophezeien (de)
• Greek: προφητεύω (el) (profitévo)

  Ancient: θεσπίζω (thespízō), προθεσπίζω (prothespízō)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: predicar (io), augurar (io)
• Latin: caveo (la), praecaveo, provideo, praeloquor, ōminor,cano (la)
• Maori: poropiti
• Portuguese: prever (pt)
• Russian: предска́зывать (ru) impf (predskázyvatʹ), предсказа́ть (ru) pf (predskazátʹ); предрека́ть (ru) impf (predrekátʹ), предре́чь (ru) pf (predréčʹ)
• Swahili: bashiri (sw)

Noun

predict (plural predicts)

1. (obsolete) A prediction.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 14:

     Or say with Princes if it shall go well, / By oft predict that I in heaven find.

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “predict”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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Middle French

Verb

predict

1. past participle of predire