Presage vs Forewarn - What's the difference?

presage | forewarn | Related terms |

Presage is a related term of forewarn.

As verbs the difference between presage and forewarn

is that presage is while forewarn is to warn in advance.

presage

English

Noun

(en noun)

A warning of a future event; an omen.

An intuition of a future event; a presentiment.

Verb

(presag)

To predict or foretell something.

* Shakespeare

My dreams presage some joyful news at hand.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times citation

, passage=That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past. }}

To make a prediction.

To have a presentiment of; to feel beforehand; to foreknow.

Synonyms

* foreshadow * portend

forewarn

English

Verb

(en verb)

To warn in advance.

*{{quote-book, year=1913, author=

, title=Lord Stranleigh Abroad , chapter=4 citation , passage=“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I??? Why didn’t I telephone??? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned , should escape. …”}}

Usage notes

Some discourage this use, finding the term redundant, as a warning is necessarily in advance. However, considering the word's continued presence in the English language ever since the time of the Anglo-Saxons (when it was first coined), the legitimacy of such complaints is somewhat questionable.The dictionary of disagreeable English, Robert Hartwell Fiske, 2006, p. 160 Additionally, many others argue that forewarn' is simple emphasis (rather than redundancy), has connotations of “well in advance” (“Watch out!” and “Watch your head!” are warnings, but not forewarnings), and has connotations of “''correct'' prediction”, as in foretell. Both '''forewarn''' and (term) are well-established words, with ' forewarn being attested since 1330.

Derived terms

* forewarned is forearmed

References

* “ Forewarning signs”, The Grammarphobia Blog, May 8, 2007