<B>The British Council?s language clinic with ?Dr Danny?</B>

Hello and welcome to the English Language Clinic, with me, ?Dr Danny?. Whenever I?m reading, whether for work, study or pleasure, I keep a notebook and pen ?to hand? (within easy reach) because I always find words which interest me. For example, yesterday I was reading a story and, within five pages, had found ?ambulatory?, ?penurious? and ?harbinger?. Where did these words come from?

Earlier today, as I read through this week?s emails, I saw one, which seemed to ?jump out at me? (it ?caught my attention?); I knew immediately that I should answer it today: ?What is a ?harbinger???

Words with a similar meaning (synonyms) include ?sign?, ?omen?, ?portent? and ?forerunner?. This last synonym also gives a clue to the origins of the word. In the late 1400s, a ?herbengar? was someone sent ahead of an army to look for somewhere for them to sleep and eat (literally, running ahead: a ?forerunner?). In modern English, a ?harbinger? is something which is interpreted as a sign, which gives information about the future. The information that such signs offer is always encoded; it is ?cryptic?.

For example, Tim was thinking about moving to America, with his daughter Sarah and wife Mel. One day, he saw an American flag hanging outside a shop. The flag had a smiling face painted above it. The name of the shop was ?Sarah Mel?s Supermarket?. Tim smiled; he knew they would be happy.

So, when I read that a fellow ?word collector? had ?come across? (found by accident) the same word that I had, I ?took it to be? (understood it as) a ?harbinger? that I would write these words.

Please send your comments, queries and questions to me, at [email protected]

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