forespurrer

forespurrer

English

Etymology

From fore- +‎ spur +‎ -er.

Noun

forespurrer (plural forespurrers)

1. One who spurs or rides ahead; a harbinger.
   • 1596-99?, William Shakespeare,The Merchant of Venice, Act II, scene ix:

     A day in April never came so sweet,

     To show how costly summer was at hand,

     As this forespurrer comes before his lord.

   • 1900, The Medical Times - Volume 28 - Page 25:

     The records of lost opportunities serve as warnings and incentives to those who aim to be forespurrers among men. They impress the great value of building upon the strong foundations of dogged work while vividly picturing the tottering and [...]

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for forespurrer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)