prophecy
n. C / Un. a statement that says what will happen in the future. People often think of these as coming from a god or a person with special powers.
n. a prediction of future events, especially one believed to be divinely inspired or revealed by supernatural means. Often carries a literary or religious tone.
The old woman made a prophecy about the king's downfall.
Many ancient myths center on a hero trying to escape a prophecy, only to fulfill it by accident.
The poet's dark prophecy regarding the city's future seemed less like divine inspiration and more like a sharp analysis of current political tensions.
From Middle English prophecie, from Old French prophetie, from Latin prophētīa, from Ancient Greek προφητεία (prophēteía, “prophecy”), from προφήτης (prophḗtēs, “speaker of a god”), from πρό (pró, “before”) + φημί (phēmí, “I tell”). Displaced native Old English wītgung. Doublet of prophesy.
Countable when referring to a specific prediction; uncountable when referring to the power or act of predicting.
he will prophecy the endhe will prophesy the endProphecy is the noun; prophesy is the verb. They are spelled differently and have different vowel sounds in the final syllable.