harbinger

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 14, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>harbinger</strong> &#149; \HAHR-bun-jer\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A harbinger is something that <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreshadow">foreshadows</a>, or gives an early indication of, something that will happen in the future.</p> <p>// When the star running back went down with an injury in the team’s first game, it turned out to be the <em>harbinger</em> of a disappointing season.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harbinger">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Whether a subtle whiff of campfire on a cool autumn breeze or the less-than-subtle lure of a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pumpkin%20spice">pumpkin spice</a> latte, the spicy, savory <em>harbingers</em> of fall spark a shift in the food and wine we crave.” — Anna Lee Iijima, <em>The Chicago Tribune</em>, 14 Sept. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>In J. R. R. Tolkien's <em>The Fellowship of the Ring</em>, four <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobbit">hobbits</a>—pursued by riders in black—seek safe harbor in the village of Bree. Unbeknownst to the hobbits, the innkeeper of The Prancing Pony, Butterbur, was made aware of their potential arrival by the wizard Gandalf some months prior (“... I was asked to look out for hobbits of the Shire ...”). When you consider the oldest, now-obsolete definitions of <em>harbinger</em>, there are multiple harbingers in this section of the tale. The first is Butterbur himself: coming from the Anglo-French <em>herberge</em>, meaning “lodgings,” <em>harbinger</em> was used as long ago as the 12th century to mean “one who provides lodgings.” Later on, <em>harbinger</em> was also used for a person sent ahead of a main party to seek lodgings.