harbinger

• n. 先驱；前兆；预告者
• vt. 预告；充做…的前驱

词态变化

助记提示

中文词源

har-,军队，队伍，词源同here,harry,-binger,住宿，庇护所，词源同burg.原义为先头部队，为大部队准备安营扎寨，后引申词义传令官，使者，以及预兆，兆头。

英文词源

harbinger

harbinger: [12] Originally, a harbinger was simply someone who provided ‘harbour’ – that is, ‘shelter, lodging’. The word began life as a derivative of Old French herberge ‘lodging’, a borrowing from heriberga, the Old Saxon equivalent of Old English herebeorg (whence modern English harbour). English acquired it as herbergere, and the n did not put in an appearance until the 15th century (it was quite a common phenomenon, seen also in messenger and passenger).

As for its meaning, it developed in the 14th century to ‘someone sent on ahead to arrange for lodging for an army, an official royal party, etc’, and from this came the present-day figurative sense ‘forerunner’.
=> harbour

harbinger (n.)

late 15c., herbengar "one sent ahead to arrange lodgings" (for a monarch, an army, etc.), alteration of Middle English herberger "provider of shelter, innkeeper" (late 12c.), from Old French herbergeor "one who offers lodging, innkeeper," agent noun from herbergier "provide lodging," from herber "lodging, shelter," from Frankish *heriberga "lodging, inn" (cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German heriberga "army shelter"), from Germanic compound *harja-bergaz "shelter, lodgings," which is also the source of harbor (n.). Sense of "forerunner, that which precedes and gives notice of the coming of another" is mid-16c. Intrusive -n- is 15c. (see messenger). As a verb, from 1640s (harbinge "to lodge" is late 15c.).

双语例句

1. The crow of the cock is a harbinger of dawn.

鸡啼报晓.

来自《简明英汉词典》

2. The cuckoo is a harbinger of spring.

布谷鸟预告春天的来临.

来自《简明英汉词典》

3. The cock is the harbinger of dawn.

雄鸡报晓.

来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4. The November air stung my cheeks, a harbinger of winter.

11月的空气刺痛了我的脸颊，预示着冬天就要来临。

来自辞典例句

5. I am afraid I am not altogether a harbinger of good.

恐怕我还不是个传布佳音的天使.

来自辞典例句