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

The triumph it inspired is still heralded now.

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Once again, they include a large amount of civilian infrastructure with further damage to the country's gas supply network, just as the first signs of cold herald a long, hard winter ahead.

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For many observers it heralds a return, for good or ill, to the party politicking that was a hallmark of the pre-1958 Fourth Republic.

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It’s a play on the alert that heralded a new participant in online chat rooms of the 1990s and aughts, a time when many of this phrase’s current users weren’t born.

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His fastball, heralded in Japan for frequently reaching triple-digits, hung around a far more pedestrian 96 mph in his initial outings with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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