Library / English Dictionary

HERALD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

Synonyms:

forerunner; harbinger; herald; precursor; predecessor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("herald" is a kind of...):

indicant; indication (something that serves to indicate or suggest)

Derivation:

herald (foreshadow or presage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(formal) a person who announces important news

Example:

the chieftain had a herald who announced his arrival with a trumpet

Synonyms:

herald; trumpeter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("herald" is a kind of...):

courier; messenger (a person who carries a message)

Domain usage:

formality (compliance with formal rules)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Praise vociferously

Example:

The critics hailed the young pianist as a new Rubinstein

Synonyms:

acclaim; hail; herald

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "herald" is one way to...):

applaud (express approval of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Greet enthusiastically or joyfully

Synonyms:

hail; herald

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "herald" is one way to...):

greet; recognise; recognize (express greetings upon meeting someone)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Foreshadow or presage

Synonyms:

announce; annunciate; foretell; harbinger; herald

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "herald" is one way to...):

tell (let something be known)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

herald (something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I was stepping leisurely across the court after breakfast, drinking the chill of the air with pleasure, when I was seized again with those indescribable sensations that heralded the change; and I had but the time to gain the shelter of my cabinet, before I was once again raging and freezing with the passions of Hyde.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A condition of the newborn marked by dyspnea with cyanosis, heralded by such prodromal signs as dilatation of the alae nasi, expiratory grunt, and retraction of the suprasternal notch or costal margins, mostly frequently occurring in premature infants, children of diabetic mothers, and infants delivered by cesarean section, and sometimes with no apparent predisposing cause.

(Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

We do not need your good offices as herald here, Sir John, said he in a low but clear voice; these valiant knights are very well known to me.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sight and scent became remarkably keen, while his hearing developed such acuteness that in his sleep he heard the faintest sound and knew whether it heralded peace or peril.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

But I was no apostle,—I could not behold the herald,—I could not receive his call.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The yell which greeted him was even more enthusiastic than that which had heralded Wilson, and there was a louder ring of admiration in it, for the crowd had already had their opportunity of seeing Wilson’s physique, whilst Harrison’s was a surprise to them.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“It is Sir William de Pakington, the prince's own herald and scrivener,” whispered Sir Nigel, as they pulled up amid the line of knights who waited admission.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all likelihood, a gleam from a lantern carried by some one across the lawn: but then, prepared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It is my custom, dearling, and hath been since I have first known thee, to proclaim by herald in such camps, townships, or fortalices as I may chance to visit, that my lady-love, being beyond compare the fairest and sweetest in Christendom, I should deem it great honor and kindly condescension if any cavalier would run three courses against me with sharpened lances, should he chance to have a lady whose claim he was willing to advance.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I come, he shouted in a hoarse, thick voice, with a strong Breton accent, as squire and herald from my master, who is a very valiant pursuivant-of-arms, and a liegeman to the great and powerful monarch, Charles, king of the French.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)