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harbinger

har·bin·ger/ˈhɑɹ.bɪn.d͡ʒəɹ/noun, verb

harbinger is spelled H-A-R-B-I-N-G-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables (har·bin·ger). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, harbinger means “A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of harbinger is harbingers.

How many letters and syllables are in harbinger?

Letters9: H-A-R-B-I-N-G-E-R
Syllables3: har·bin·ger
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is harbinger?

Harbinger appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce harbinger?

  • UK /ˈhɑːbɪndʒə/
  • US /ˈhɑɹ.bɪn.d͡ʒəɹ/

Harbinger has 3 syllables, split har·bin·ger in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-harbinger.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of harbinger

  • harbingers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • harbingering participle, present
  • harbingered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does harbinger mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A person or thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of someone or something.

    harbinger of danger; harbinger of doom; harbinger of spring

  2. 2

    obsoleteOne who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when travelling, to provide and prepare lodgings.

    outward decency […] is the Harbinger to provide the lodging for inward holinesse

verb

  1. 1

    To announce or precede; to be a harbinger of.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Harbinger in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprésage (that which foretells the coming of something), annoncer, présager (to announce)
GermanVorbote, Omen, Vorzeichen (that which foretells the coming of something), ankündigen (to announce)
Portuguesearauto, presságio (that which foretells the coming of something)
Spanishanunciador, anunciante, heraldo, presagio (that which foretells the coming of something), anunciar (to announce)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does harbinger come from?

Originally, a person sent in advance to arrange lodgings. From Middle English herberjour, herbergeour, from Old French herbergeor (French hébergeur), from herbergier (“to set up camp; to shelter; to take shelter”) + -or (suffix forming agent nouns), from Old High German heribergan, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army camp, shelter”). Compare German Herberge, Italian albergo, Dutch herberg, English harbor. More at here, bury.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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