presage

See also: pressage, présage, and présagé

English

WOTD – 4 May 2016

Etymology

From Middle English presage, from Latin praesāgium.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɛsɪdʒ/, /pɹɪˈseɪdʒ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsɪdʒ, -eɪdʒ
• Hyphenation: pre‧sage

Noun

presage (plural presages)

1. A warning of a future event; an omen.
   • a. 1786, [Richard Glover], “Book the Twenty-eighth”, in [Mrs. Halsey], editor, The Athenaid, a Poem, […], volume III, London: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], published 1787, OCLC 228751730, lines 354–357, page 213:

     Speak frankly, Mirzes—nor believe thy words, / Whatever black preſages they contain, / Subjoin'd to all Trophonius hath foretold, / Can change my firm reſolves, or blunt my ſword.

2. An intuition of a future event; a presentiment.
   • 1855, Robert Browning, “‘Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.’”, in Men and Women […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], OCLC 1561924, stanza 22, page 143:

     Glad was I when I reached the other bank. / Now for a better country. Vain presage!

Translations

warning; omen

• Bulgarian: знамение (bg) n (znamenie), поличба (bg) f (poličba)
• Catalan: presagi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 预兆 (zh), 征兆 (zh)

• Dutch: voorteken (nl)
• Finnish: enne (fi)

• French: présage (fr) m
• Georgian: ცუდი წინათგრძნობის ქონა (cudi c̣inatgrʒnobis kona)
• Italian: presagio (it)
• Romanian: avertiza (ro), prefigura (ro)
• Russian: предзнаменова́ние (ru) n (predznamenovánije)
• Spanish: presagio (es)

intuition; presentiment

• Bulgarian: предчувствие (bg) n (predčuvstvie)
• Catalan: presagi (ca) m, intuïció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 预感 (zh)

• Dutch: voorgevoel (nl)

• Finnish: aavistus (fi)
• Georgian: წინათგრძნობა (c̣inatgrʒnoba)
• Romanian: inituiție n, presentiment (ro) n, prefigura (ro)
• Russian: предчу́вствие (ru) n (predčúvstvije)
• Spanish: presentimiento (es) m, intuición (es) f

Verb

presage (third-person singular simple present presages, present participle presaging, simple past and past participle presaged)

1. (transitive) To predict or foretell something.
   • c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i]:

     (Q2 version):

     If I may truſt the flattering truth of ſleepe, / My dreames preſage ſome ioyfull newes at hand : / My boſomes L. ſits lightly in his throne : / And all this day an vnaccuſtom’d ſpirit, / Lifts me aboue the ground with cheatfull thoughts […]

   • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a second term, Obama will confront familiar headwinds”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past.

2. (intransitive) To make a prediction.
3. (transitive) To have a presentiment of; to feel beforehand; to foreknow.

Synonyms

• foreshadow
• forespell
• portend

Translations

to predict or foretell something

• Bulgarian: предсказвам (bg) (predskazvam)
• Dutch: voorspellen (nl), aankondigen (nl)
• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)

• Latin: ōminor
• Spanish: presagiar (es)

to make a prediction

• Bulgarian: предвещавам (bg) (predveštavam)
• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)

• Spanish: predecir (es)

to have a presentiment of

• Bulgarian: предчувствам (bg) (predčuvstvam)
• Dutch: een voorgevoel hebben, voorvoelen (nl)

• Finnish: aavistaa (fi), uumoilla (fi), ounastella (fi)
• Spanish: presentir (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} présager (fr)

Anagrams

• asperge, preages, sperage