Word of the Day - 03/16/26
portent
/'poʊrtɛnt/(n.): a sign of something about to happen
The dark, swirling clouds were a portent of the coming storm.
Word Origin
The word 'portent' originates from the Latin word 'portentum', which is the neuter past participle of the verb 'portendere'. 'Portendere' means 'to foretell', 'to indicate', or 'to stretch forth'. The word can be broken down into 'por-' (a variant of 'pro-', meaning 'forth' or 'forward') and 'tendere' (meaning 'to stretch'). Thus, a 'portent' is something that stretches forth or indicates what is to come.
Many English words share the root 'tendere' from Latin, meaning 'to stretch'. Examples include 'tend' (as in to stretch or move in a certain direction), 'extend' (to stretch out), 'intend' (to stretch the mind towards a purpose), 'contend' (to stretch or strive against), 'distend' (to stretch apart or swell), 'pretend' (to stretch forward as a cover), and 'ostentatious' (from Latin 'ostentare', a frequentative of 'ostendere', meaning 'to show', literally 'to stretch forth to show').