AUGURY

augury, sign, foretoken, preindication

(noun) an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come; “he hoped it was an augury”; “it was a sign from God”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

augury (countable and uncountable, plural auguries)

A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.

(by extension) An omen or prediction; a foreboding; a prophecy.

An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.

Synonyms

• See also omen

Hyponyms

• ailuromancy, felidomancy (cats)

• alectryomancy (chickens)

• arachnomancy (spiders)

• auspice (birds)

• entomomancy (insects)

• hippomancy (horses)

• ichthyomancy (fish)

• myomancy (mice)

• myrmomancy (ants)

• ophiomancy (snakes)

• zoomancy (any animal)

Source: Wiktionary


Au"gu*ry, n.; pl. Auguries (. Etym: [L. aucurium.]

1. The art or practice of foretelling events by observing the actions of birds, etc.; divination.

2. An omen; prediction; prognostication; indication of the future; presage. From their flight strange auguries she drew. Drayton. He resigned himself . . . with a docility that gave little augury of his future greatness. Prescott.

3. A rite, ceremony, or observation of an augur.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 December 2024

QUANDONG

(noun) Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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