/her"euhld/ , n.
1. (formerly) a royal or official messenger, esp. one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.
2. a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger: the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.
3. a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.
4. (in the Middle Ages) an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions, announced challenges, marshaled combatants, etc., and who was later employed also to arrange processions, funerals, etc., and to regulate the use of armorial bearings.
5. an official intermediate in rank between a king-of-arms and a pursuivant, in the Heralds' College in England or the Heralds' Office in Scotland.
v.t.
6. to give news or tidings of; announce; proclaim: a publicity campaign to herald a new film.
7. to indicate or signal the coming of; usher in.
[ 1300-50; ME herau ( l ) d herau ( l ) t heriwald, equiv. to * heri army + * wald commander (see WIELD). Compare name HAROLD ]
Syn. 7. publicize, ballyhoo, tout.