augur 1
/aw"geuhr/ , n.
1. one of a group of ancient Roman officials charged with observing and interpreting omens for guidance in public affairs.
2. soothsayer; prophet.
v.t.
3. to divine or predict, as from omens; prognosticate.
4. to serve as an omen or promise of; foreshadow; betoken: Mounting sales augur a profitable year.
v.i.
5. to conjecture from signs or omens; predict.
6. to be a sign; bode: The movement of troops augurs ill for the peace of the area.
[ 1540-50; augur (var. of auger ) a diviner, soothsayer, deriv. of augere to AUGMENT with orig. implication of "prosper"; cf. AUGUST ]
augur 2
/aw"geuhr/ , Western U.S.
v.i.
1. to argue, talk, or converse.
n.
2. an excessively talkative person.
[ 1920-25; metathetic var. of ARGUE; n. perh. by assoc. with AUGER ]