Faith & RitualGreek → English
Prophecy
/ˈprɒfəsi/noun
A prediction of what is to come, especially one claimed to be divinely given.
The Greek roots
προφητεία
prophēteía
gift of prophesying
προφήτης
prophḗtēs
one who speaks forth
Literally: “the speaking-forth”
The story of the word
English keeps a distinction most speakers use without being able to state it: prophecy with an s-sound is the noun, prophesy with a z-sound is the verb, a split inherited from Old French -cie against -cier. Greek προφητεία covers the office and the utterance together. Cassandra's difficulty was never a shortage of prophecy but Apollo's curse that nobody would believe hers, added when she took the gift and refused the price.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 13th century
Same family
prophetprophesyblasphemyeuphemism
In a sentence
The prophecy was vague enough to fit any outcome.
Half the plot turns on a prophecy nobody explains until the last chapter.