portend
to forecast that something will happen
TRANSLATION
portend = voraussagen, auf etwas hindeuten --- GOOGLE INDEX portend: approximately 1,900,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Commodity prices are high, PORTENDING bad inflation news for the summer - which probably also means higher interest rates and lower stock prices.
(BusinessWeek magazine)
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Merkel is not only finding herself increasingly isolated in Europe, but is reeling from a sensational defeat for her conservatives at regional elections which may PORTEND the outcome of next year's federal election.
(The Guardian)
(BusinessWeek magazine)
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Merkel is not only finding herself increasingly isolated in Europe, but is reeling from a sensational defeat for her conservatives at regional elections which may PORTEND the outcome of next year's federal election.
(The Guardian)
Did you
know?
portend
verb
- be a sign or warning that something (especially something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Note: the noun form is spelled with a "t", as in portent
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Portend is from the early 15th century and stems from the Latin "portendere", to foretell. It originally referred to "stretching forward" ( por, a variant of pro, meaning forth or forward" + tendere, meaning to stretch, extend)
The Mayans, an ancient civilization that lived in the southern Americas, enjoyed fooling around with numbers and astronomy. Based on their own calculations, they portended that the world would end on December 21, 2012. That didn't happen. But even the most-educated among us make forecasts that turn out to be completely wrong. Here are some of the more spectacular ones of the modern age:
- Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. (Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946)
- Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years. (Alex Lewyt, president of the American vacuum company Lewyt, 1955)
- There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. (Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977)
- Two years from now, e-mail spam will be solved. (Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004)
- The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys. (Sir William Preece, chief engineer, British Post Office, 1876)
- Everyone's always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, 'probably never'. (David Pogue, New York Times, 2006)
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SYNONYMS
indicate, foreshadow, foretell, predict, prognosticate
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The latest sales statistics portend a disappointing first quarter for the company."
verb
- be a sign or warning that something (especially something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Note: the noun form is spelled with a "t", as in portent
---
Portend is from the early 15th century and stems from the Latin "portendere", to foretell. It originally referred to "stretching forward" ( por, a variant of pro, meaning forth or forward" + tendere, meaning to stretch, extend)
The Mayans, an ancient civilization that lived in the southern Americas, enjoyed fooling around with numbers and astronomy. Based on their own calculations, they portended that the world would end on December 21, 2012. That didn't happen. But even the most-educated among us make forecasts that turn out to be completely wrong. Here are some of the more spectacular ones of the modern age:
- Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. (Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946)
- Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years. (Alex Lewyt, president of the American vacuum company Lewyt, 1955)
- There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. (Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977)
- Two years from now, e-mail spam will be solved. (Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004)
- The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys. (Sir William Preece, chief engineer, British Post Office, 1876)
- Everyone's always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, 'probably never'. (David Pogue, New York Times, 2006)
---
SYNONYMS
indicate, foreshadow, foretell, predict, prognosticate
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The latest sales statistics portend a disappointing first quarter for the company."
