soothsayer

English

Alternative forms

• southsayer

Etymology

From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) +‎ sayer.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsuθˌseɪɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsuːθˌseɪə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

soothsayer (plural soothsayers)

1. One who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.
   • 1951 March, John W. Cline, “The Future of Medicine”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 165:

     It is a great pleasure to be with you today and to speak to you concerning the future of medicine. In so doing, I do not wish to pose as a soothsayer or crystal gazer.

   • 1988, Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine, New York: Basic Books, page 7:

     The past twenty years have seen their share of soothsayers ready to predict with conviction one extreme or another of the alternative futures I have presented.

2. A mantis (Mantodea spp.)
3. (obsolete) One who tells the truth; a truthful person.
4. A double dart moth (Graphiphora augur).

Related terms

• soothsay

Translations

one who predicts the future

• Arabic: عَرَّاف m (ʕarrāf), بَصّار m (baṣṣār), مُتَنبِّئ m, مُتَكَهِّن m (mutakahhin)
• Armenian: գուշակ (hy) (gušak)
• Asturian: adivín (ast), vidente (ast)
• Belarusian: вяшчу́н m (vjaščún), праро́к m (prarók), празо́рлівец m (prazórlivjec), прадказа́льнік m (pradkazálʹnik)
• Breton: profed m, divinour m, diviner (br) m
• Bulgarian: предсказател m (predskazatel), гадател (bg) m (gadatel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 預言家／预言家 (zh) (yùyánjiā), 算命家 (zh) (suànmìngjiā)

• Czech: věštec (cs) m
• Danish: spåmand c, seer (da) c
• Dutch: waarzegger (nl) m, waarzegster (nl) f, wittiger (nl) m, toekomstvoorspeller f, toekomstvoorspelster f, profeet (nl) m
• Finnish: ennustaja (fi)
• French: prophète (fr) m, prophétesse (fr) f, devin (fr) m
• Galician: adiviño m, agoireiro m
• German: Seher (de) m, Seherin (de) f, Wahrsager (de) m, Wahrsagerin (de) f, Zeichendeuter m, Spökenkieker (de) m, Hellseher (de) m
• Greek: μάντις (el) (mántis)

  Ancient: μάντις m (mántis), χρησμῳδός m (khrēsmōidós)

• Hungarian: jós (hu)
• Icelandic: spámaður m (male), spákona f (female)
• Irish: fáistineach m, fáidh m, fáidheadóir m, mathmharc m, fear feasa m, bean feasa f
• Italian: indovino (it) m, indovina (it) f
• Japanese: 占い師 (ja) (うらないし, uranaishi)
• Kikuyu: mũragũri class 1
• Korean: 점쟁이 (ko) (jeomjaeng'i)
• Latin: vātēs m or f, python m, pythonissa f
• Macedonian: претска́жувач m (pretskážuvač), га́талец m (gátalec)
• Manx: faaishnagh f, fallogyssagh, guess
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spåmann m (male), spåkone m or f (female)

  Nynorsk: spåmann m (male), spåkone f (female)

• Old English: spæwīfe f
• Old Norse: spákona f
• Plautdietsch: Woasaja m
• Polish: wieszcz (pl) m, prorok (pl) m, wieszczek (pl) m
• Portuguese: adivinho (pt) m, adivinha (pt) f
• Russian: проро́к (ru) m (prorók), предсказа́тель (ru) m (predskazátelʹ), предсказа́тельница (ru) f (predskazátelʹnica), прови́дец (ru) m (provídec), прови́дица (ru) f (provídica), прорица́тель (ru) m (proricátelʹ), прорица́тельница (ru) f (proricátelʹnica), вещу́н (ru) m (veščún), вещу́нья (ru) f (veščúnʹja)
• Scots: wizard, witter-wife (female), spaer, weird-man, forteller, foreteller, saga, suthesayer, suth sayar, suithsayer, suithsayar, soothsayer
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гатар m, га̀тара f

  Roman: gatar (sh) m, gàtara (sh) f

• Slovak: veštec m
• Slovene: vedež m, prorok m
• Spanish: adivino (es) m, adivina (es) f
• Swedish: siare (sv) c (male), sierska (sv) c (female), spåman (sv) c (male), spåkvinna (sv) c (female)
• Turkish: falcı (tr), kâhin (tr)
• Ukrainian: віщу́н m (viščún), проро́к (uk) m (prorók), прови́дець (uk) m (provýdecʹ), прові́сник m (provísnyk)
• Welsh: daroganwr m, daroganwraig f

mantis or rearhorse — see mantis

one who tells the truth

• Arabic: كاهِن m (kāhin)
• Finnish: totuudenpuhuja (fi)
• Scots: suthesayer, suth sayar, suithsayer, suithsayar, soothsayer

See also

• prognosticator
• seer
• prophet