Adjacent Words

Herald definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HER'ALD, n.
1. An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war,to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. Hence,
2. A proclaimer; a publisher; as the herald of another's fame.
3. A forerunner; a precursor; a harbinger.
It was the lark, the herald of the morn.
4. An officer in Great Britain, whose business is to marshal, order and conduct royal cavalcades, ceremonies at coronations, royal marriages, installations, creations of dukes and other nobles, embassies, funeral processions, declarations of war, proclamations of peace, etc.; also, to record and blazon the arms of the nobility and gentry, and to regulate abuses therein.
5. Formerly applied by the French to a minstrel.
HER'ALD, v.t. To introduce, as by a herald.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (formal) a person who announces important news; "the chieftain had a herald who announced his arrival with a trumpet" [syn: herald, trumpeter]
2: something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone [syn: harbinger, forerunner, predecessor, herald, precursor] v
1: foreshadow or presage [syn: announce, annunciate, harbinger, foretell, herald]
2: praise vociferously; "The critics hailed the young pianist as a new Rubinstein" [syn: acclaim, hail, herald]
3: greet enthusiastically or joyfully [syn: hail, herald]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French heraud, herald, from Frankish *heriwald-, literally, leader of an armed force, from *heri- army + *wald- rule; akin to Old High German heri- army, waltan to rule — more at harry, wield 1. a. an official at a tournament of arms with duties including the making of announcements and the marshaling of combatants b. an officer with the status of ambassador acting as official messenger between leaders especially in war c. (1) officer of arms (2) an officer of arms ranking above a pursuivant and below a king of arms 2. an official crier or messenger 3. a. one that precedes or foreshadows b. one that conveys news or proclaims ; announcer <it was the lark, the herald of the morn — Shakespeare> c. one who actively promotes or advocates ; exponent Synonyms: see forerunner II. transitive verb Date: 14th century 1. to give notice of ; announce 2. a. to greet especially with enthusiasm ; hail <doctors are heralding a new drug> b. publicize 3. to signal the approach of ; foreshadow

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an official messenger bringing news. 2 a forerunner (spring is the herald of summer). 3 a hist. an officer responsible for State ceremonial and etiquette. b Brit. an official of the Heralds' College. --v.tr. proclaim the approach of; usher in (the storm heralded trouble). Phrases and idioms: Heralds' College Brit. colloq. = College of Arms. Etymology: ME f. OF herau(l)t, herauder f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Herald Her"ald, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Heralded; p. pr. & vb. n. Heralding.] [Cf. OF. herauder, heraulder.] To introduce, or give tidings of, as by a herald; to proclaim; to announce; to foretell; to usher in. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Herald Her"ald, n. [OE. herald, heraud, OF. heralt, heraut, herault, F. h['e]raut, LL. heraldus, haraldus, fr. (assumed) OHG. heriwalto, hariwaldo, a (civil) officer who serves the army; hari, heri, army + waltan to manage, govern, G. walten; akin to E. wield. See Harry, Wield.] 1. (Antiq.) An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and inviolable character.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(heralds, heralding, heralded) 1. Something that heralds a future event or situation is a sign that it is going to happen or appear. (FORMAL) ...the sultry evening that heralded the end of the baking hot summer... VERB: V n 2. Something that is a herald of a future event or situation is a sign that it is going to happen or appear. (FORMAL) I welcome the report as a herald of more freedom, not less... N-COUNT: N of n 3. If an important event or action is heralded by people, announcements are made about it so that it is publicly known and expected. (FORMAL) Janet Jackson's new album has been heralded by a massive media campaign... Tonight's clash between Real Madrid and Arsenal is being heralded as the match of the season. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by n, be V-ed as n 4. In former times, a herald was a person who delivered and announced important messages. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

her'-ald: The word occurs once (Da 3:4) as the translation of the Aramaic word karoz (compare kerux): "Then the herald cried aloud."

See also GAMES.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Proclaimer, publisher, crier. 2. Forerunner, precursor, harbinger. II. v. a. Proclaim, announce, publish.

Moby Thesaurus

Clarenceux, College of Arms, Gabriel, Garter, Lyon, Norroy, Norroy and Ulster, ancestor, announce, announcer, antecede, antecedent, antedate, anticipate, avant-garde, ballyhoo, be before, be early, bellwether, blare, blare forth, blaze, blaze abroad, blaze the trail, blazon, blazon about, break the trail, buccinator, buccinator novi temporis, bushwhacker, celebrate, come before, commissar, commissary, commissionaire, commissioner, courier, crier, cry, cry out, declaim, delegate, earl marshal, emissary, envoy, evangel, evangelist, explorer, forebear, foregoer, forerun, forerunner, foreshadower, foreshow, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, give notice, go before, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald abroad, herald angel, innovator, introduce, king at arms, king of arms, lead, lead runner, leader, legate, messenger, minister, mouthpiece, notify, official spokesman, outrider, pathfinder, pioneer, point, preannounce, precede, precedent, precurse, precursor, predate, predecessor, preexist, preindicate, premonitor, presage, presager, proclaim, prolocutor, prolocutress, prolocutrix, promulgate, rapporteur, reporter, run before, scout, secretary, shout, speaker, spokesman, spokeswoman, stormy petrel, thunder, thunder forth, trailblazer, trailbreaker, trumpet, trumpet forth, usher in, vanguard, vaunt-courier, voice, voortrekker