prognosticate | Word of the Day

February 02, 2019 prognosticate [prog-nos-ti-keyt] verb 1. to forecast or predict (something future) from present indications or signs; prophesy. 2. to foretoken; presage: birds prognosticating spring. word-trends Is "Crude" The Right Word To Use To Describe Someone's Language? in-the-news Why Can't Women Swear? WORD OF THE DAY prognosticate continued... QUOTES Indeed, during the year we are describing, it was known that all those visible signs which prognosticate any particular description of weather, had altogether lost their significance. -- William Carleton, The Black Prophet: A Tale of Irish Famine, 1847 ORIGIN English prognosticate comes from Medieval Latin prognōsticāt-, the inflectional stem of prognōsticātus "foretold, predicted," the past participle of prognōsticāre. Prognōsticāre comes from the Greek adjective and noun prognōstikós "prescient, foreknowing; a prognostic, a sign of the future." It is not common for Latin and Greek to agree so easily in their etymologies, but prognosticate is a good example. The basic meaning of the preposition and prefix prō, pro- in both languages means "forward, forth, in front of" and is akin to English for and forth. The root gnō- in Latin and Greek means "to know" and is akin to English know and Slavic (Polish) znać. Prognosticate entered English in the 15th century. MORE FOR YOU 1 What Does It Mean To Be Electable? The word electable seems self-explanatory. Technically, it means "capable of, or having a reasonable chance of being elected." But, what are we really talking about when we say that someone is electable? 2 Idioms Used Incorrectly In Famous Situations When idioms are misused, quite a bit can be lost in translation, leaving the audience scratching their heads (we've done a slideshow on that too!). A gaffe between friends is one thing, but what about when the whole world is listening? Pretty embarrassing ... or learning moment? Either way, here are 10 times idioms were used incorrectly in famous situations. 3 Perfect Quotes To Inspire Your Dinner Conversation Stuck for small talk? Take some advice from these famous authors and spice up your conversation. 4 The Social Justice Dictionary You Didn't Know You Needed The language we use to describe social justice changes just as quickly as our advancements do, and it can be hard to keep up. So, we've collected some of the terms and phrases that make up social justice, which is itself a catch-all phrase for movements that work toward greater equality. 5 Suspicious Slang Your Kids Are Using Kids are crafty—and so they've invented some new words to use in times of exasperation, anger, or when just trying to fit in. Do you know what these slang words mean? © 2018 Dictionary.com, LLC. ABOUT CONTACT You are subscribed to the Word of the Day as: matzom229@gmail.com Subscriber since: September 06, 2017 Unsubscribe Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 500 Oakland CA 94607 Manage your subscription Terms & Privacy