portents

Portents are signs or events interpreted as forewarnings of future happenings, especially significant or calamitous ones. The term derives from Latin portentum, meaning a sign or omen, from portendere, to foretell. In traditional contexts, portents are interpreted by specialists such as priests, augurs, or oracles, who attempt to read natural phenomena as messages from the divine or the cosmos.

Historically, portents appear in many cultures. In ancient Greece and Rome, unusual celestial events, earthquakes, or unusual animal behavior were thought to signal the will of the gods. In medieval Europe, ecclesiastical authorities often labeled rare occurrences as portents and organized rituals or political advisories in response. Dreams, prophecies, and verbal utterances could also be regarded as portents.

In literature, portents function as foreshadowing devices, signaling a turning point or impending catastrophe. Shakespeare, for example, uses portents and ominous warnings surrounding Julius Caesar, including prophesied events and ominous omens that precede his downfall.

In modern usage, portent can describe any sign that suggests an approaching change, often with a sense of gravity. The term remains closer to its original sense in discussions of mythology, religious history, and literary analysis, but it is also common in journalism and commentary as a rhetorical device to frame early indicators of future developments.