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harbinger love

harbinger

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner.
  • transitive verb To signal the approach of; presage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who provides or secures lodging for another; specifically, a royal officer who rode a day's journey in advance of the court when traveling, to provide lodgings and other accommodations.
  • noun One who or that which precedes and gives notice of the coming of some other person or thing; a forerunner; a precursor.
  • To precede; act as a harbinger to; serve as an omen or indication of; presage; announce.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To usher in; to be a harbinger of.
  • noun One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when traveling, to provide and prepare lodgings.
  • noun A forerunner; a precursor; a messenger.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something.
  • verb transitive To announce; to be a harbinger of.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone
  • verb foreshadow or presage

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English herbengar, person sent ahead to arrange lodgings, from Old French herbergeor, from herbergier, to provide lodging for, from herberge, lodging, of Germanic origin; see koro- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Originally, a person that is sent in advance to provide lodgings. From Middle English herbergeour, from Old French herbergeor ( > French héberger ("to accommodate, put up")), from Frankish *heriberga ("lodging, inn", literally "army shelter"), from Proto-Germanic *harjaz (“army”) + *bergô (“protection”). Compare German Herberge, Italian albergo, Dutch herberg, English harbour. More at here, borrow.

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Examples

  • Therefore, the JOLT survey is seen as a near - to mid-term harbinger of future hiring - and two straight months of declines sends a clear signal that joblessness won't be declining.

    Hot Air » Top Picks 2010

  • Therefore, the JOLT survey is seen as a near - to mid-term harbinger of future hiring - and two straight months of declines sends a clear signal that joblessness won't be declining.

    Latest Articles 2010

  • In some ways, they said, the midterms were not as bleak a harbinger as some Democrats fear.

    'Soul-searching' inside the White House Anne E. Kornblut 2010

  • In some ways, they said, the midterms were not as bleak a harbinger as some Democrats fear.

    'Soul-searching' Obama aides: Democrats' midterm election losses a wake-up call Anne E. Kornblut 2010

  • The harbinger is the situation in Mexico, where the cartels are mounting armed attacks on officials, driving them to take repressive measures that are building resentment among ordinary citizens, many of whom are coming to see police and military as more of a threat than the cartelistas.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably a Federal Criminal: 2009

  • A harbinger was the first run of fish in the St. Lawrence River.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

  • A harbinger was the first run of fish in the St. Lawrence River.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

  • I have to say I've never been called a harbinger before.

    An Abundance of Spring Music in the Air 2007

  • In what lobbyists are calling a harbinger of possible upheaval on Capitol Hill, many who make a living influencing government have gone from mostly shunning Democrats to aggressively recruiting them as lobbyists over the past six months or so.

    Archive 2006-08-13 Diane Silver 2006

  • In what lobbyists are calling a harbinger of possible upheaval on Capitol Hill, many who make a living influencing government have gone from mostly shunning Democrats to aggressively recruiting them as lobbyists over the past six months or so.

    Reading the election tea leaves: Lobbyists bet Democrats will win in November Diane Silver 2006

Comments

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  • arby commented on the word harbinger

    I don't care for this word because I always think it should be "harbringer".

    May 25, 2007

  • uselessness commented on the word harbinger

    I used to think the same thing, then I heard it pronounced and fell in love with it all over again. It's all about the soft "g" as in "HAR bin jer." It's fun on totally different grounds.

    May 25, 2007

  • bilby commented on the word harbinger

    The fame anon thurgh toun is born

    How Alla kyng shal comen on pilgrymage,

    By herbergeours that wenten hym biforn

    - Geoffrey Chaucer, 'The Man of Law's Tale', 1386.

    Rendering in modern English:

    The news through all the town was carried,

    How King Alla would come on pilgrimage,

    By harbingers that went before him.

    December 11, 2008