omen
[oh-muhn]
- anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.
- a prognostic.
- prophetic significance; presage: a bird of ill omen.
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- to be an omen of; portend.
- to divine, as if from omens.
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Origin of omen
First recorded in 1575–85, omen is from the Latin word ōmen
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
premonitionharbingerindicationportentauspiceprognosticstrawforebodingaugurywarningprognosticationprophecypresageforetokenbodementExamples from the Web for omen
Contemporary Examples
At times, it seemed Leonard was awaiting a portent or an omen.
The Japan Times on March 6, 2010, reported that in folklore the fish comes to the beach as an omen of an earthquake.
The color has also been used to forebode an omen or a threat.
Some view is as an omen of dread, of blood, of war, or of victory.
They may even have a good argument, but their very existence is about as ill an omen as it gets.
Historical Examples
He took it as an omen that the wilderness was deserted, and his confidence was strong.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
The dead quiet of the house also oppressed him—like a voice—an omen.
The Coryston FamilyMrs. Humphry Ward
For I will tell you what has happened to me; and I regard the coincidence as a sort of omen.
LawsPlato
If they come up odd the omen is favourable, and if even it is bad.
It may serve as an example of the branch of the omen literature to which it belongs.
The Religion of Babylonia and AssyriaMorris Jastrow
omen
- a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster
- prophetic significance
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- (tr) to portend
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin
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
Word Origin and History for omen
n.
1580s, from Latin omen "foreboding," from Old Latin osmen, of unknown origin; perhaps connected with the root of audire "to hear" [OED] or from PIE *o- "to believe, hold as true" (cf. Greek oiomai "I suppose, think, believe").
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper