auspex
Americannoun
-
auspices
plural
noun
Usage
What does auspex mean? An auspex was an Ancient Roman official who acted as soothsayer or priest and was responsible for interpreting omens to guide decisions. The plural of auspex is auspices. The Ancient Roman auspices were highly respected religious officials. They were consulted by lawmakers and other leaders prior to major events such as wars and the founding of colonies. The word augur can mean the same thing, and it is also used as a general term for any prophet, oracle, or soothsayer. Example: The emperor was known for never taking action before consulting the auspices.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of auspex
1590–1600; < Latin: one who observes birds, soothsayer, diviner, equivalent to au-, base of avis bird + -spex watcher ( spec-, stem of specere to look at) + -s nominative singular suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Is Teucer called auspex, as taking the auspices, like an augur, or as giving the auspices, like a god?
From The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace by John Conington
DHS consolidated a whole bunch of agencies under its auspices, from the Coast Guard to Federal Emergency Management Agency, but its most consequential new department was the U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
"We call on all actors to constructively engage in negotiations under UN auspices."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Mojica Loaisiga is a special correspondent writing for The Times under the auspices of the International Center for Journalists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the atmosphere was "positive" on Wednesday during the country's first direct talks with Lebanon in decades under the auspices of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Soon after the outbreak in Germany, a team of investigators under the auspices of the World Health Organization flew to Uganda to try to find out where those monkeys had come from.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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