soothsayer

[sooth-sey-er]

See more synonyms for soothsayer on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who professes to foretell events.

Origin of soothsayer

First recorded in 1300–50, soothsayer is from the Middle English word sothseyere, sothseyer. See sooth, say¹, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for soothsayer

Contemporary Examples

No wonder they were often considered bad omens: no soothsayer could tell when one might appear.
Comet Surfing on a Rocket
Matthew R. Francis
August 10, 2014
A soothsayer warned Julius Caesar about the Ides of March—a catastrophe looming in the middle of the month.
Memorial Days After Mourning Has Passed
Alex Horton
May 25, 2014
But soothsayer Simon Cowell, who created and judges the show, saw the future.
One Direction Is a Boy Band That Proves You Can Be Both Famous and Unknown
Kevin Fallon
August 28, 2013
The Rapture did not come to pass on May 21, but soothsayer Harold Camping has rescheduled it for this Friday.
8 Questions About the New Rapture
David A. Graham
October 20, 2011

Historical Examples

To this the soothsayer adds the ceremonial element, 'attending upon the gods.'
Euthyphro
Plato
Laches draws the inference that the courageous man is either a soothsayer or a god.
Laches
Plato
And yet Nicias, would you allow that you are yourself a soothsayer, or are you neither a soothsayer nor courageous?
Laches
Plato
Next day, Coeratadas arrived with the victims and the soothsayer.
Anabasis
Xenophon
“You have divined the offence like a soothsayer,” said the stranger, laughingly.
Romola
George Eliot

British Dictionary definitions for soothsayer

soothsayer

noun

a seer or 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 soothsayer

n.

mid-14c., zoþ ziggere (Kentish), "one who speaks truth,;" late 14c., sothseggere, "fortune-teller;" see sooth + say. Old English had soðsagu "act of speaking the truth."

soothsayer

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for soothsayer

Contemporary Examples

No wonder they were often considered bad omens: no soothsayer could tell when one might appear.

A soothsayer warned Julius Caesar about the Ides of March—a catastrophe looming in the middle of the month.

But soothsayer Simon Cowell, who created and judges the show, saw the future.

The Rapture did not come to pass on May 21, but soothsayer Harold Camping has rescheduled it for this Friday.

Historical Examples

To this the soothsayer adds the ceremonial element, 'attending upon the gods.'

Laches draws the inference that the courageous man is either a soothsayer or a god.

And yet Nicias, would you allow that you are yourself a soothsayer, or are you neither a soothsayer nor courageous?

Next day, Coeratadas arrived with the victims and the soothsayer.

“You have divined the offence like a soothsayer,” said the stranger, laughingly.

soothsayer

Word Origin and History for soothsayer

n.

Origin of soothsayer