Augurship

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The position held by an individual responsible for interpreting signs to foresee future happenings
2. The duty of a person who predicts events by analyzing omens and other indicators
3. The office or position held by a person who interprets signs to predict future events

Etymology: "Augurship" is a straightforward formation: the noun "augur," a Roman official who read omens, with the suffix "-ship," which in English turns a noun into a word for a state, office, or condition, as in "lordship" or "partnership." Put together, the word names the office of an augur. The base word carries the real story. In Roman religion, augurs watched birds, lightning, and the behavior of sacred chickens to decide whether the gods approved of a public undertaking, and the college of augurs was among the most respected priesthoods of the republic. The Latin "augur" is of uncertain origin, though it is often linked to "avis," meaning bird, a connection that fits the practice of reading flight patterns. Because the English term is built openly from its parts, it adds little beyond the office it names. Its usefulness lies mainly in historical writing about Roman religion, where it lets a writer refer to the priesthood as an institution rather than to any one priest.