augur

views updated Jun 11 2018

au·gur / ˈôgər/ • v. [intr.] (augur well/badly/ill) (of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome: the end of the Cold War seemed to augur well. ∎  [tr.] portend or bode (a specified outcome): they feared that these happenings augured a neo-Nazi revival. ∎  [tr.] ( archaic ) foresee or predict.• n. hist. (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, esp. the behavior of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action.

augur

views updated May 29 2018

augur Roman religious official with duty of foretelling future events. XIV. — L., f. base of augēre (see prec.).
Hence augur vb. XVI (Sc.), after L. augurārī. So augury XIV. — OF. augurie or L. augurium; see -Y4.

augur

views updated May 11 2018

augur in ancient Rome a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behaviour of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval.

Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes from Latin, meaning ‘diviner’.

More From encyclopedia.com