the.com/portent
A sign that the universe is buffering before something dramatic loads.
means A sign or warning that something significant, often ominous, is about to happen.
from From Latin portentum, 'a sign or omen,' from portendere 'to foretell, predict' — built from por- (a variant of pro-, 'forth') plus tendere 'to stretch.' So a portent literally 'stretches forth' a warning, reaching out from the future to tap you on the shoulder. Same tendere that gives us tend, tension, and extend — all about stretching toward something.
- latin root
- From portendere, meaning to foretell or stretch forth
- sky obsessed
- Comets were history's favorite portents of doom
- adjective form
- Portentous can mean ominous or pompously self-important
- shakespeare
- Caesar ignored portents and got famously stabbed
for instance
halley's comet — appeared before the norman conquest in 1066, depicted in the bayeux tapestry as an omen
great comet of 1811 — visible to naked eye, interpreted across europe as foretelling napoleon's downfall