herald

[ her-uhld ]

noun

1. (formerly) a royal or official messenger, especially one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.
2. a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger:

   the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.

3. a person or thing that proclaims or announces:

   A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.

4. (in the Middle Ages) an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions, announced challenges, marshaled combatants, etc., and who was later employed also to arrange processions, funerals, etc., and to regulate the use of armorial bearings.
5. an official intermediate in rank between a king-of-arms and a pursuivant, in the Heralds' College in England or the Heralds' Office in Scotland.

verb (used with object)

1. to give news or tidings of; announce; proclaim:

   a publicity campaign to herald a new film.

2. to indicate or signal the coming of; usher in.

   Synonyms: tout, ballyhoo, publicize

herald

/ ˈhɛrəld /

noun

1. 1. a person who announces important news
   2. ( as modifier )

      herald angels

2. literary.
   a forerunner; harbinger
3. the intermediate rank of heraldic officer, between king-of-arms and pursuivant
4. (in the Middle Ages) an official at a tournament

verb

1. to announce publicly
2. to precede or usher in

Word History and Origins

Origin of herald¹

1300–50; Middle English herau ( l ) d < Old French herau ( l ) t < Frankish *heriwald, equivalent to *heri army + *wald commander ( wield ). Compare name Harold

Word History and Origins

Origin of herald¹

C14: from Old French herault, of Germanic origin; compare Old English here war; see wield

Example Sentences

A spokesman for Ericksen told the Herald that month that he was unsure whether the state senator was vaccinated against the coronavirus.

From Washington Post

The Herald also reported that MP Jan Tinetti, minister of internal affairs, minister for women, and associate minister of education noted that it was a “a proud day in Aotearoa’s history”.

From Washington Blade

In an interview with the Herald, he also called the audit a blueprint for reform.

From ProPublica

He saw NuWeld as a herald of the “millions of millions of new high-paying jobs” that fracking could bring.

From MIT Technology Review

The New Zealand Herald later revealed that the country had secretly granted Thiel full citizenship.

From ProPublica

Check: “This atom smashing business is going to herald the final victory of the machine.”

From The Daily Beast

The Herald asked her to be a freelance reporter, but not because of her notorious status.

From The Daily Beast

One of the reporters from New York was Herbert Bayard Swope, then of the Herald.

From The Daily Beast

Foss occasionally supplied pulpits in Baltimore and its suburbs, to the derision of the Herald agnostics.

From The Daily Beast

A smaller headline in the Herald Tribune stated that Black September, headed by Ali Salameh, had taken credit for the operation.

From The Daily Beast

Ike had read the "Herald," with all about "the great prize fight" in it, and had become entirely carried away with it.

From Project Gutenberg

The announcements of the meets in this and adjoining counties appear regularly in the Midland Counties' Herald.

From Project Gutenberg

Voices sounded behind him, and with them a great glare of ruddy light came to herald the arrival of his men.

From Project Gutenberg

Therefore the Herald is going to print that wild story of Hunt's to-night and comment upon the audacity of the scheme.

From Project Gutenberg

Then a herald made sure that neither knight had fastened himself to his saddle.

From Project Gutenberg