Prognostication

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of making a forecast about what will happen in the future
2. A prediction about upcoming events based on analysis or intuition
3. The practice of foretelling events expected to occur later by examining current signs

Etymology: Medieval Latin "prognosticatio" came from the Late Latin verb "prognosticare," meaning to foretell or predict. The Greek root "prognōstikos" is the older ancestor, built from "pro" (before) and "gignōskein" (to know), so the word literally meant knowing beforehand. Greek physicians used the idea to judge how a disease would develop, which is why the notion of foreknowledge was tied from the start to reading signs. English took the word through Old French "pronosticacion," and it carried that medical and astrological flavour into common use. Its sense of a considered forecast, rather than a guess, was there from the outset, and it has stayed closely tied to the idea of reasoning from present signs toward what is coming.

Synonyms: prediction, forecast, prophecy, divination, augury