her·ald / ˈherəld/ • n. 1. an official messenger bringing news.2. a person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen: they considered the first primroses as the herald of spring.3. hist. an official employed to oversee state ceremony, precedence, and the use of armorial bearings, and to make proclamations, carry ceremonial messages, and oversee tournaments.• v. [tr.] be a sign that (something) is about to happen: the speech heralded a change in policy. ∎  (usu. be heralded) acclaim: the band has been heralded as the industrial supergroup of the '90s.

herald an official employed to oversee state ceremonial, precedence, and the use of armorial bearings, and (historically) to make proclamations, carry ceremonial messages, and oversee tournaments.

In the UK, a herald is an official of the College of Arms (also known as the Heralds' College) or the Lyon Court ranking above a pursuivant.
Heraldry the system by which coats of arms and other armorial bearings are devised, described, and regulated.

herald officer who delivers proclamations, etc.; envoy XIV; forerunner XVI; one skilled in heraldry XIX. ME. herau(l)d — OF. herau(l)t (mod. héraut) — Gmc. *χariwald-, f. *χarjaz army + *wald- rule, WIELD.
So vb. XIV. Hence heraldic XVIII, heraldry XVI.