harbinger

[hahr-bin-jer]

noun

1. a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald.

2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign.

   Frost is a harbinger of winter.

   Synonyms: indication, portent, precursor, forerunner, herald

3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train, etc., to provide or secure lodgings and other accommodations.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as harbinger to; herald the coming of.

harbinger

/ ˈhɑːbɪndʒə /

noun

1. a person or thing that announces or indicates the approach of something; forerunner

2. obsolete,  a person sent in advance of a royal party or army to obtain lodgings for them

verb

1. (tr) to announce the approach or arrival of

Word History and Origins

Origin of harbinger¹

First recorded in 1125–75; late Middle English herbenger, nasalized variant of Middle English herbegere, dissimilated variant of Old French herberg(i)ere “host,” equivalent to herberg(ier) “to shelter” (from Germanic; harbor ) + -iere -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of harbinger¹

C12: from Old French herbergere, from herberge lodging, from Old Saxon heriberga; compare Old High German heriberga army shelter; see _harry , _borough

Example Sentences

To others, however, OpenAI is something akin to tulip mania, the harbinger of the Great Depression, or the next dot-com bubble.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Or the New York Times’s Ezra Klein, that harbinger of the obvious becoming sayable to liberals.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The article invokes Warren Buffett’s observation that receding tides reveal who has been swimming naked, positioning this bankruptcy as a potential harbinger of wider market distress to come.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Co-author Adrienne Nicotra said it "remains to be seen whether Australian tropical forests are a harbinger for other tropical forests globally".

Read more on Barron's

If this is a harbinger, it’s a tricky one.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• omen 
• portent 
• precursor 

When To Use

What does harbinger mean?

Harbinger most commonly means an omen or a sign of something to come.Harbinger can also mean a person sent ahead to make people aware that someone else is coming (such as a king) or to make preparations (such as for an army), but these meanings are much less common. Harbinger can also be used as a verb meaning to act as a sign or omen.Example: These flowers are always the first to bloom, so people consider them harbingers of spring.