augury

/ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/

//ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi// noun

"augury" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“augury” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.

Corpus desk

Index EN-augury · augury · English

augury · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for augury
PropertyValue
Headwordaugury
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “augury” in English

auguryranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

augury is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for augury, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From augur + -y, or from Middle English augurie, from Old French augurie, from Latin augurium. The correct English form is augury, spelled A-U-G-U-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.
  2. 2
    An omen or prediction; a foreboding; a prophecy.
  3. 3
    An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how augury appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In Wordsworth's first preludings there is but a dim foreboding of the creator of an era. From Southey's early poems, a safer augury might have been drawn.
  2. No augury could be hopefuller. The Fates must indeed be hard, the Ordeal severe, the Destiny dark, that could destroy so bright a Spring!

Etymology

From augur + -y, or from Middle English augurie, from Old French augurie, from Latin augurium.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "augury"?
"augury" is spelled A-U-G-U-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/.
What does "augury" mean?
As a noun, "augury" means: A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.
How do you pronounce "augury"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "augury" is /ˈɔː.ɡjʊ.ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "augury"?
From augur + -y, or from Middle English augurie, from Old French augurie, from Latin augurium. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list