herald

[ her-uhld ]

/ ˈhɛr əld /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR herald ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(formerly) a royal or official messenger, especially one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.

a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger: the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.

a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.

(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.

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)

to give news or tidings of; announce; proclaim: a publicity campaign to herald a new film.

to indicate or signal the coming of; usher in.

Nearby words

heraclitean, heracliteanism, heraclitus, heraclius, herakleion, herald, herald moth, herald's trick, heraldic, heraldry, heralds' college

Origin of herald

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

SYNONYMS FOR herald

7 publicize, ballyhoo, tout.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR herald ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for herald

Check: “This atom smashing business is going to herald the final victory of the machine.”
Mailer’s Letters Pack a Punch and a Surprising Degree of Sweetness|Ronald K. Fried|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Herald asked her to be a freelance reporter, but not because of her notorious status.
Amanda Knox, Cub Reporter: The Convicted Murderer Is Now Writing Theater Reviews for a Small Seattle Paper|Justin Miller|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the reporters from New York was Herbert Bayard Swope, then of the Herald.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire|H.L. Mencken|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Foss occasionally supplied pulpits in Baltimore and its suburbs, to the derision of the Herald agnostics.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire|H.L. Mencken|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Kentucky senator was supposed to herald a newly dovish GOP.
Rand Paul vs. the Real World|James Kirchick|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their following was discouraged, and they themselves feared lest the General should be the herald of armies.
The River War|Winston S. Churchill
Then he summoned the people through a herald by a consecrated form of words.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India--Volume I (of IV)|R.V. Russell
The editor of the Herald has lived a good deal longer than he ought to have done, but it is to be hoped that he can't live always.
The American Joe Miller|Various
Good, my lad,” said Cuchulain; “these are the tokens of a herald.
Irish Fairy Tales|Edmond Leamy
The English returned no answer to the herald, as no command or order had been given.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 1 (of 3)|James Hogg

British Dictionary definitions for herald

herald

/ (ˈhɛrəld) /

noun

a person who announces important news
(as modifier)herald angels

often literary a forerunner; harbinger

the intermediate rank of heraldic officer, between king-of-arms and pursuivant

(in the Middle Ages) an official at a tournament

verb (tr)

to announce publicly

to precede or usher in

Word Origin for herald

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012