I. her ‧ ald 1 /ˈherəld/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to be a sign of something that is going to come or happen soon:
A flash of lightning heralded torrential rain.
Flashing blue lights heralded the arrival of the police.
2 . to say publicly that someone or something will be good or important
be heralded as something
When it opened, the hospital was heralded as a new way forward in nursing care.
II. herald 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: herault ]
1 . [countable] someone who carried messages from a ruler in the past
2 . herald of something a sign that something is soon going to happen:
a bowl of daffodils, the first bright heralds of spring