Dictionary Definition
auspicate
Verb
1 indicate by signs; "These signs bode bad news"
[syn: bode, portend, prognosticate, omen, presage, betoken, foreshadow, augur, foretell, prefigure, forecast, predict]
2 commence in a manner calculated to bring good
luck; "They auspicated the trip with a bottle of champagne"
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From auspicatus, past participle of auspicari "to take auspices", from auspex "bird seer", "augur", a contraction of avispex; avis "bird" + specere, spicere, "to view".Verb
- To foreshow; to foretoken.
- To give a favorable turn to in commencing; to inaugurate; -- a sense derived from the Roman practice of taking the auspicium, or inspection of birds, before undertaking any important business.