soothsayer

Etymology

From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.

noun

  1. One who predicts 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. 1951 March, John W. Cline, “The Future of Medicine”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 165
    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. 1988, Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine, New York: Basic Books, page 7
  2. A mantis (Mantodea spp.)
  3. (obsolete) One who tells the truth; a truthful person.
  4. A double dart moth (Graphiphora augur).

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