How to Use Harbinger Correctly

The word harbinger dates back to the 1100s, though its meaning has changed significantly. We will examine the definition of the word harbinger, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.A harbinger is a forerunner of something else, a herald, a portent, a sign that something else is coming. A harbinger may signal something negative, such as a black cat crossing one’s path as a sign of impending bad luck. However, a harbinger may also signal something pleasant, such as the sighting of a robin as a signal of spring. Originally, the word harbinger, rendered asherberger, meant an innkeeper. Within about one hundred years, the term was applied to a scout who went ahead of a traveling royal retinue in order to procure lodging. By the 1700s, the term harbinger was applied to any sign that acted as a herald of things to come. The plural form is harbingers.ExamplesThe recent national protests, on June 13th and March 30th, are the harbinger of a very real challenge for the Rus...