Word of the Day : August 29, 2019

augur \AW-gur\ verb

Definition

1 : to foretell especially from omens

2 : to give promise of : presage

Did You Know?

Auguring is what augurs did in ancient Rome. Augurs were official diviners whose function it was not to foretell the future, but to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. Nowadays, the foretell sense of the verb is often used with an adverb, such as well. Augur comes from Latin and is related to the Latin verb augēre, meaning "to increase."

Aired August 29, 2019

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