prophecy

[prof-uh-see]

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noun, plural proph·e·cies.

the foretelling or prediction of what is to come.

something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.

a divinely inspired utterance or revelation: oracular prophecies.

the action, function, or faculty of a prophet.

Origin of prophecy

1175–1225; Middle English prophecie < Old French < Late Latin prophētīa < Greek prophēteía. See prophet, -y³

Can be confusedprophecy prophesy

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

Related Words for prophecy

revelation, apocalypse, prognostication, cast, augury, soothsaying, prognosis, vision, oracle, forecast, presage, divination, prevision

Examples from the Web for prophecy

Contemporary Examples of prophecy

“Instead of me fulfilling my prophecy,” he said, “I have to start one,” and that was a lot of pressure.
Broadway Was Made for Tupac
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Marcyliena Morgan
July 7, 2014
His prophecy kicked off a vertiginous frenzy of doomsaying, and he was thrown in jail by fearful Bolognese officials.
The Volcano That Rewrote History
William O’Connor
May 5, 2014
NB: Prophecy is the key source of mystery and danger in our books.
Historical Fiction: A Conversation Between Bruce Holsinger and Nancy Bilyeau
Nancy Bilyeau, Bruce Holsinger
March 30, 2014
These Christians see the Syrian crisis as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
Sorry, Evangelicals, Syria Will Not Spur the Second Coming
Candida Moss
September 5, 2013
And nothing short of a sustained campaign that Washington has no stomach for can prevent this prophecy from materializing.
How U.S. Strikes on Syria Help al Qaeda
Barak Barfi
August 28, 2013

Historical Examples of prophecy

A bee entered one of the chambers with a prophecy of flowers.
Buds and Bird Voices (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Now I should like to know a more sure word of prophecy than that!
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
They have the gift of prophecy, and their predictions are always realised.
The Dream
Emile Zola
The sentence has been reversed; the prophecy of Skirving has become history.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
They even believe them endowed with something celestial and the spirit of prophecy.
Tacitus on Germany
Tacitus

British Dictionary definitions for prophecy

prophecy

noun plural -cies

a message of divine truth revealing God's will
the act of uttering such a message

a prediction or guess

the function, activity, or charismatic endowment of a prophet or prophets

Word Origin for prophecy

C13: ultimately from Greek prophētēs prophet

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 prophecy

c.1200, prophecie, prophesie, "function of a prophet," from Old French profecie (12c. Modern French prophétie) and directly from Late Latin prophetia (source also of Spanish profecia, Italian profezia), from Greek propheteia "gift of interpreting the will of the gods," from prophetes (see prophet). Meaning "thing spoken or written by a prophet" is from c.1300.