soothsayer
English
Alternative forms
- southsayer
Etymology
From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsuːθˌseɪə(ɹ)/
Noun
soothsayer (plural soothsayers)
- One who predicts the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.
- 1988, Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine, New York: Basic Books, page 7:
- The past twenty years have seen their share of soothsayers ready to predict with conviction one extreme or another of the alternative futures I have presented.
-
- A mantis or rearhorse.
- (obsolete) One who tells the truth; a truthful person.
Related terms
- soothsay
Translations
one who predicts the future
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mantis or rearhorse — see mantis
one who tells the truth
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See also
- prognosticator
- seer
- prophet