the.com/bode
A verb that only shows up when something's about to go wrong.
means To be a sign or warning of something that's coming, usually something bad — as in a dark sky that bodes a storm.
from From Old English 'bodian,' meaning to proclaim or announce, which traces back to 'boda,' a messenger. So 'bode' started as a neutral word for delivering news of any kind — it's a distant cousin of 'bid.' Somewhere along the way it narrowed its focus, drifting almost entirely toward bad news, as if the messenger got tired of good tidings and only showed up for the grim ones.
- usual company
- almost always paired with ill, rarely well
- root meaning
- old english boda, a messenger or herald
- related word
- forebode, its gloomier, more dramatic cousin
- grammar quirk
- needs an adverb to mean anything at all