Seer

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /sɪə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. An individual acknowledged for the capacity to predict events to come while also being considered insightful regarding unseen truths and deeper realities of existence
2. Someone reputed to foresee future happenings ; a person recognized for profound understanding or wisdom
3. An individual believed to glimpse forthcoming events ; one with exceptional perceptiveness and knowledge

Etymology: The word "seer" looks like a plain agent noun, built from "see" plus the suffix "-er", meaning one who sees. That transparent construction is the surprise: a person who sees is, in the older sense, one who perceives what others cannot. The English word is a Middle English form, seere, which follows the same pattern, and it has long carried the sense of someone who foresees the future or perceives hidden truths. The word also has a separate, older root. It is connected to "sihr", the Old English term for seeing, and the two strands merged in Middle English. The result is that the ordinary verb "see" and the prophetic noun share one core idea: sight as a route to knowledge that goes beyond the visible.

Synonyms: prophet, oracle

Antonyms: ignorant