Auspice

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɔːspɪs/

Definitions

1. A condition of guidance or support provided by a person or organization ; a sign or indication predicting future events, especially favorable ones
2. Protection or patronage given by an authority or sponsor ; an observed phenomenon believed to foretell the future
3. Supervision or backing offered by someone in charge ; an auspicious indication or portent signaling what may come

Etymology: The Latin "auspex" was a bird-watcher: an official who read omens from the flight, calls and feeding of birds before a Roman magistrate or general undertook an important action. The word comes from "avis", bird, combined with a root related to "specere", to look at, so an "auspex" was literally a bird-inspector. The Latin "auspicium" was the act of taking those omens, and a favourable sign was the basis of the ceremony that gave a venture divine approval. That religious sense explains the modern meaning. Someone who held the auspices was acting under the gods' blessing, so the idea of guidance and backing from a powerful authority grew naturally from it. English took the word from Middle French "auspice", which itself came from Latin, and the sense of protection or patronage developed from the earlier idea of divine sanction.

Synonyms: patronage, guidance, support

Antonyms: opposition