Foresights

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The ability to anticipate future events or trends based on current knowledge
2. A keen insight into potential developments that may arise
3. The practice of planning or predicting ahead to avoid potential challenges or capitalize on opportunities

Etymology: Foresight is a calque of the Latin "providentia," meaning that English speakers built the word by copying the parts of a foreign term rather than borrowing it whole. Middle English writers formed "forsight" from "fore," meaning before, and "sight," meaning the ability to see, so the word literally describes seeing ahead. German "Vorsicht" and Dutch "voorzicht" were formed the same way, which is why those words share the same literal sense. The plural "foresights" is the form of the noun "foresight" used when referring to several instances or examples of seeing ahead, as in a set of separate acts of planning. The base word traces back to Middle English, where it appears in forms such as "forsight" and "forsichte."

Synonyms: anticipations, forecasts