Omens

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Indicators or occurrences interpreted as foreshadowing future happenings
2. Signs or manifestations thought to signify what is to come in later times
3. Events or signs regarded as signals of what may happen later

Etymology: "Omens" is the plural of "omen", so it simply refers to more than one sign of what is to come. The singular comes from Latin "ōmen", which meant a foreboding or omen, a sign taken from events, sounds or behaviour that was thought to reveal the future. Latin speakers used the word for almost any unusual occurrence that seemed to carry a message from the gods. The word passed into English directly from Latin, so it has kept its original sense of a sign that predicts something, whether good or bad. Its plural follows the regular English pattern of adding "-s", and the meaning has stayed remarkably close to the Roman original across two thousand years.

Synonyms: signs, portents, warnings, forewarnings, auguries

Antonyms: blessings, good fortune