soothsayer means one who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, soothsayer ranks #1,386 of 25,264 for Qualifying, #2,308 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,317 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #2,328 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words.
soothsayer is pronounced /ˈsuθˌseɪɚ/.
Why “soothsayer” is a great word
One who predicts future events, often by magical, intuitive, or divinatory means. From Middle English sothsaier (c. 1340), a compound of sooth ("truth," from Old English sōþ) and sayer ("one who says"). Unlike a prophet, who speaks with the authority of a divine messenger, or a fortune-teller, who trades in personal futures for coin, the soothsayer occupies a murkier, more archaic ground. It is the fixed gaze into the offal of a sacrificed lamb, the patterns traced in smoke above a battlefield, the whispered pronouncement in the torch-lit tent—a figure forever poised between genuine augury and performative cunning, reminding us that the desire to know tomorrow has always been a market for both terror and hope.
Etymology
From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.
noun
- One who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.“It is a great pleasure to be with you today and to speak to you concerning the future of medicine. In so doing, I do not wish to pose as a soothsayer or crystal gazer.”
- A mantis (Mantodea spp.)
- One who tells the truth; a truthful person.
- A double dart moth (Graphiphora augur).
Words closest in meaning
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