clairvoyant

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who claims to have the ability to perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact

   The clairvoyant predicted the outcome of the election with surprising accuracy.

2. 2
   adj

   having or exhibiting an ability to perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact

   She had a clairvoyant sense that something was about to go wrong.

Simplified etymology

Clairvoyant was adopted in the late 17th century from French clair, “clear,” and voyant, “seeing,” from voir, “to see.” It initially meant “clear-sighted” or “perceptive”; the supernatural sense involving perception of future events arose in the mid-19th century.

From French clair ("clear") + voyant ("seeing"), giving clairvoyant ("clear-sighted"); adopted into Modern English meaning "having the ability to perceive events beyond normal sensory contact."

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary