presage

See also: pressage, présage, and présagé

English

WOTD – 4 May 2016

Etymology

From Middle French presage, from Latin praesāgium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɛsɪdʒ/, /pɹɪˈseɪdʒ/
• Rhymes: -eɪdʒ
• Hyphenation: pre‧sage

Noun

presage (plural presages)

1. A warning of a future event; an omen.
2. An intuition of a future event; a presentiment.
   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, XXII:

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

Translations

warning; omen

• Catalan: presagi m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 预兆 (zh) (yùzhào), 征兆 (zh) (zhēngzhào)

• Dutch: voorteken (nl)
• Finnish: enne (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: présage (fr) m
• Georgian: ცუდი წინათგრძნობის ქონა (cudi c̣inatgrʒnobis kona)
• Italian: presagio (it)
• Russian: предзнаменова́ние (ru) n (predznamenovánije)
• Spanish: presagio (es)

intuition; presentiment

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 预感 (zh) (yùgǎn)

• Dutch: voorgevoel (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: aavistus (fi)
• Georgian: წინათგრძნობა (c̣inatgrʒnoba)
• Russian: предчу́вствие (ru) n (predčúvstvije)
• Spanish: presentimiento (es) m, intuición (es) f

Verb

1. (transitive) To predict or foretell something.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), 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, [Act V, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
     , 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

• Dutch: voorspellen (nl), aankondigen (nl)
• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: ōminor

to make a prediction

• Finnish: ennustaa (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to have a presentiment of

• Dutch: een voorgevoel hebben
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: aavistaa (fi), uumoilla (fi), ounastella (fi)

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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• asperge, preages, sperage