prophecy

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈprɑfəsi/ UK /ˈprɒfəsi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a prediction of what will happen, especially one of divine inspiration

The old prophecy foretold the return of the rightful king.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a prediction of what will... prediction forecast prognostication revelation augury divination oracle vision

Word family

Related forms prophesy prophet prophetic

Etymology

From Old French prophecie, from Late Latin prophetia, from Ancient Greek prophēteia ('gift of interpreting the will of the gods'), from prophētēs ('one who speaks for a god'), from pro- ('before, for') + phēmi ('I speak').

prophēteia Ancient Greek phēmi Ancient Greek *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# prophecy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈprɑfəsi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈprɒfəsi/

## Meanings
1. a prediction of what will happen, especially one of divine inspiration

## Examples
- The old prophecy foretold the return of the rightful king.

## Synonyms
- prediction
- forecast
- prognostication
- revelation
- augury
- divination
- oracle
- vision

## Related Forms
- prophesy
- prophet
- prophetic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: prophēteia
- Root: phēmi
- Root: *bʰeh₂-

## Etymology
From Old French prophecie, from Late Latin prophetia, from Ancient Greek prophēteia ('gift of interpreting the will of the gods'), from prophētēs ('one who speaks for a god'), from pro- ('before, for') + phēmi ('I speak').

## AI Etymology
Prophecy is from Old French prophecie, from Late Latin prophetia, from Ancient Greek prophēteia ('gift of interpreting the will of the gods'), from prophētēs ('one who speaks for a god'), from pro- ('before, for') + phēmi ('I speak'). Important recorded forms include prophēteia (Ancient Greek), phēmi (Ancient Greek), and *bʰeh₂- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers a prediction of what will happen, especially one of divine inspiration. The wider family includes related words such as prophesy, prophet, and prophetic.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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