harbinger
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.a person or thing that shows something else is going to happen soon.
n.a person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something; a precursor.
Simple“The first few yellow leaves are a harbinger of autumn.”
In context“The sudden drop in consumer spending was seen by economists as a grim harbinger of the coming recession.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'of'.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to be a sign that something is about to start or arrive.
v.to announce the approach of; to act as a precursor to an event or state.
Simple“The loud bells harbinger the start of the festival every year.”
In context“These technological breakthroughs may harbinger a new era of space exploration that was previously thought impossible.”
UsageThis verb is transitive and takes a direct object.
Originally, a person sent in advance to arrange lodgings. From Middle English herberjour, herbergeour, from Old French herbergeor (French hébergeur), from herbergier (“to set up camp; to shelter; to take shelter”) + -or (suffix forming agent nouns), from Old High German heribergan, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army camp, shelter”). Compare German Herberge, Italian albergo, Dutch herberg, English harbor. More at here, borrow.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.