Forwarning

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Advance notice given about an event, danger or change before it actually happens, allowing people time to prepare
2. An early signal or alert that something unpleasant or significant is about to occur so that one can get ready
3. Prior notification of a coming development, particularly a threat or difficulty, given so that it can be anticipated

Etymology: "Forwarning" is the present participle and gerund of "forwarn," and its history is a surprise: the verb once meant the near opposite of warning someone. Its ancestor, Old English "forwærnan," meant to hinder, prohibit, prevent, repel, or refuse, and it was built from the prefix "for-" (expressing prevention or refusal) plus a root meaning to care for or guard against harm. Forwarn, in other words, originally meant to keep something away or forbid it, and the sense of advance caution came later. Over the Middle English period the verb drifted from forbidding toward its modern meaning of giving warning in advance, though the older senses of denying or withholding never fully disappeared. The word's roots reach back to a Proto-Indo-European base meaning to close, cover, or protect, which explains why the idea of guarding against something sits at its core in every stage.

Synonyms: forewarning, warning, caution