omen
- 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.
- to be an omen of; portend.
- to divine, as if from omens.
Origin of omen
Synonyms for omen
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for omen
premonition, harbinger, indication, portent, auspice, prognostic, straw, foreboding, augury, warning, prognostication, prophecy, presage, foretoken, bodementExamples from the Web for omen
Contemporary Examples of omen
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 of omen
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
- (tr) to portend
Word Origin for omen
Word Origin and History for omen
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").