herald

[ her-uhld ]
See synonyms for: heraldheraldedheralding on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. (formerly) a royal or official messenger, especially one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.

  2. a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger: the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.

  1. a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.

  2. (in the Middle Ages) an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions, announced challenges, marshaled combatants, etc., and who was later employed also to arrange processions, funerals, etc., and to regulate the use of armorial bearings.

  3. an official intermediate in rank between a king-of-arms and a pursuivant, in the Heralds' College in England or the Heralds' Office in Scotland.

verb (used with object)
  1. to give news or tidings of; announce; proclaim: a publicity campaign to herald a new film.

  2. to indicate or signal the coming of; usher in.

Origin of herald

1
1300–50; Middle English herau(l)d<Old French herau(l)t<Frankish *heriwald, equivalent to *heri army + *wald commander (see wield). Compare name Harold

Other words for herald

Words Nearby herald

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use herald in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for herald

herald

/ (ˈhɛrəld) /


noun
    • a person who announces important news

    • (as modifier): herald angels

  1. often literary a forerunner; harbinger

  1. the intermediate rank of heraldic officer, between king-of-arms and pursuivant

  2. (in the Middle Ages) an official at a tournament

verb(tr)
  1. to announce publicly

  2. to precede or usher in

Origin of herald

1
C14: from Old French herault, of Germanic origin; compare Old English here war; see wield

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012