herald

American  

[her-uhld] / ˈhɛr əld /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to announce publicly

2. to precede or usher in

Etymology

Origin of herald

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

Example Sentences

But the shift began around 2000; in October of that year I wrote a column heralding the shift and noting the bullish impact it would likely have on Canadian equities.

From MarketWatch

He heralded his arrival with the Rotten Riddims series of mixtapes, releasing six volumes within the space of a month in summer 2008.

From BBC

Architecture critics, who like to put the chapel in a historical context, regard it as a turning point in the discipline—its fanciful use of concrete anticipates Brutalism and its unusual shapes herald Post-Modernism.

From The Wall Street Journal

His death, if confirmed and in such violent circumstances, heralds a new and uncertain future, both in Iran and the wider region.

From BBC

The National District Attorneys Assn. heralded it as a “new era in crime solving.”

From Los Angeles Times