HERALD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does herald mean? 

• HERALD (noun)
  The noun HERALD has 2 senses:

1. (formal) a person who announces important news

2. something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

  Familiarity information: HERALD used as a noun is rare.

• HERALD (verb)
  The verb HERALD has 3 senses:

1. foreshadow or presage

2. praise vociferously

3. greet enthusiastically or joyfully

  Familiarity information: HERALD used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HERALD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(formal) a person who announces important news

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

herald; trumpeter

Context example:

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

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

courier; messenger (a person who carries a message)

Domain usage:

formality (compliance with formal rules)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

forerunner; harbinger; herald; precursor; predecessor

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

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

Derivation:

herald (foreshadow or presage)

• HERALD (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they herald    ... he / she / it heralds   
Past simple: heralded   
Past participle: heralded   
-ing form: heralding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Foreshadow or presage

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

announce; annunciate; foretell; harbinger; herald

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Praise vociferously

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

acclaim; hail; herald

Context example:

The critics hailed the young pianist as a new Rubinstein

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

applaud (express approval of)

Sentence frames:

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

Greet enthusiastically or joyfully

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

hail; herald

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

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

How say you, sire? he asked, turning to the Spanish refugee, while the herald of Navarre was conducted from the chamber by the old warrior.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Changes in the output or proportions of different gases - such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide – can herald shifts in the activity of a volcano.

(Size matters: if you are a bubble of volcanic gas, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It had been a mild, serene spring day—one of those days which, towards the end of March or the beginning of April, rise shining over the earth as heralds of summer.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

An oath from Perrault, the resounding impact of a club upon a bony frame, and a shrill yelp of pain, heralded the breaking forth of pandemonium.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

It has long been believed that Earth has a solid iron core but no proof has ever been found and it has been heralded as the 'holy grail' of global seismology.

(Earth's Core Confirmed to Be Solid After 80 Years of Study, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The first appearance of bright green leaves heralds the start of spring, nudging insects, birds and other animals into a whirlwind of action.

(Urbanization delays spring plant growth in warm regions, National Science Foundation)

A dignity was given to the contest by a rigid code of ceremony, just as the clash of mail-clad knights was prefaced and adorned by the calling of the heralds and the showing of blazoned shields.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is characterized by an initial large round spot on the chest, abdomen, or back, often referred to as a herald patch, that is usually followed within a week by a distinctive pattern of similar but smaller papules on the torso, arms, and legs.

(Pityriasis Rosea, NCI Thesaurus)

Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which had been the herald of her own death.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Lady Russell could not hear the door-bell without feeling that it might be his herald; nor could Anne return from any stroll of solitary indulgence in her father's grounds, or any visit of charity in the village, without wondering whether she might see him or hear of him.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)