augur: [14] In Roman times, an augur was someone who foretold the future by observing the flight of birds (or by examining their entrails). His method of divination was reflected in his title, for the Latin word augur, earlier auger, seems to have meant literally ‘one who performs with birds’, from avis ‘bird’ (as in English aviary [16] and aviation [19]) and gerere ‘do, perform’ (as in English gestation, gesture, gerund, digest, and suggest). (A parallel formation is auspice [16], whose Latin antecedent auspex meant ‘one who observed the flight of birds’; it was compounded from avis and the verb specere ‘look’, which is related to English species and spy.) A Latin derivative was the verb inaugurāre ‘foretell the future from the flight of birds’, which was applied to the installation of someone of office after the appropriate omens had been determined; by the time it reached English as inaugurate [17], the association with divination had been left far behind. => aviary, aviation, inaugurate
augur (n.)
1540s, from Latin augur, a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens, perhaps originally meaning "an increase in crops enacted in ritual," in which case it probably is from Old Latin *augos (genitive *augeris) "increase," and is related to augere "increase" (see augment). The more popular theory is that it is from Latin avis "bird," because the flights, singing, and feeding of birds, along with entrails from bird sacrifices, were important objects of divination (compare auspicious). In that case, the second element would be from garrire "to talk."
augur (v.)
c. 1600, from augur (n.). Related: Augured; auguring.
双语例句
1. Already there were problems. It didn't augur well.
已经有问题了，这不是好兆头。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Conflicts among the various groups do not augur well for the future of the peace talks.
各派之间的冲突对和平谈判不是一个好兆头。
来自《权威词典》
3. Does this unfortunate news augur war in the near future?
这个不幸消息预示最近的将来会发生战争 吗 ?
来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
4. The signs augur well for tomorrow's weather.
种种征候预示明天天气良好.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. I augur from all circumstances it is a prosperous voyage.
