Portend

verb

to be a sign or an omen of something unpleasant

Usage

Portend is used to describe a warning of an ominous future event. It is usually present in situations of prophecy in literature and in the occult as it adds a haunting air to the situation. While foreshadowing can augur either positive or negative happenings, portend is a specific kind of foreshadowing for something unfortunate or catastrophic like death or destruction. It can also be used to highlight certain superstitions or concerns for the future of a certain person or situation.

Example: Some believe that breaking a mirror will portend seven years of bad luck.

Example: The dark clouds in the distance portend a dangerous storm.

Derivative Words

Portent: The noun form of portend describes the sign or omen itself.

Example: Mercury's retrograde is the portent of bad decision making.

Portended: The past tense of portend is used for a situation that has been predicted.

Example: Walking under the ladder portended her tripping and falling two hours later.

Portending: The active verb form of portend is used while the foreshadowing occurs.

Example: Problems in the stock market are portending an economic recession.

Origin

Portend was first used in the 15th century in late Middle English. It originated from the Latin portendere which came from the prefix por- meaning forward or forth and tendere meaning to stretch or extend.

In Literature

From Shakespeare's King Lear

Gloucester: These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us.
...
Edmund: This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeits of our own behavior) we make guilty of our disasters, the sun, the moon, and stars.

Here nature-vs-nurture plays out in the pages of Shakespeare, using portend to describe how the changes in the sun and moon will negatively affect the characters of the play. Gloucester relies on cues from nature to foretell the future, but his illegitimate son Edmund finds that way of living to be ridiculous. Edmund believes we should not use shifts in nature to explain away our faults and behavior as it only distracts us from the truth and gives us a reason not to change ourselves.

Mnemonic

Pretend all you want, laziness portends trouble.