Definition of AUGUR (original) (raw)
1
: an official diviner of ancient Rome
2
: one held to foretell events by omens
1
: to foretell especially from omens
2
: to give promise of : presage
This bad news augurs disaster for all of us.
Did you know?
In ancient Rome, augurs were official diviners whose function it was to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. We doubt the Romans predicted that augur would eventuate into a verb meaning “presage or foretell,” but in retrospect, _augur_’s path must have been in the stars.
Synonyms
Examples of augur in a Sentence
Noun
ancient Roman augurs who predicted the future by reading the flight of birds Verb
The decision doesn't augur well. the extended interview augurs well for your acceptance into that law school
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The ancient Romans consulted augurs, who discerned the future by studying the behavior of birds. —
Matthew Continetti, National Review, 26 Oct. 2024 No reliable augurs of a coming bear market are in evidence: S & P up 10 of 11 months, making a new high in September, credit spreads resolutely narrow, all point to an upside bias over a span of months, at least. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2024
In the Peach State contests pitting Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue respectively against Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, the polls held a week before Election Day augured that both GOP candidates would win comfortably, in a twofer securing the party’s control of the upper chamber. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024 Harris’s move comes amid signs inflation is finally cooling, after reaching a 41-year high during her vice presidency, auguring a possible interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve before the election. —W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for augur 
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English augurre, augure, borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French augure, borrowed from Latin augur, perhaps going back to *aug-u-s "the increased, one who receives the signs of increase," noun derivative of an s-stem adjective *aug-u-s "increased, grown," derivative of a u-stem adjective *aug-u- with the same sense, derivative from the base of augeō, augēre "to increase, make greater, heighten" — more at eke entry 2
Note: Though a connection has long been sought between the noun augur and the verb augēre, as well as with the adjective augustus "solemn, venerable" (see august), the semantic and morphological details are elusive. The above etymology was proposed by Michael Weiss in "Observations of the Prehistory of Latin augur," Alessandria 5 (2011), Atti del Convegno Internazionale … in memoriam Helmut Rix, pp. 365-79. As a morphological point of comparison for the derivation of augur, Weiss points to Latin vetus, veteris "old, veteran," which, if derived from an original u-stem adjective *u̯etu-, could be plausibly linked to Lithuanian vẽtušas and Old Church Slavic vetŭxŭ, both meaning "old."
Verb
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French augurer, borrowed from Latin augurāre, augurārī "to foretell by augury, take auspices, prophesy, predict," derivative of augur augur entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1593, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of augur was in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near augur
Cite this Entry
“Augur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/augur. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 9 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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