The future is now

January 21st, 2009 at 07:00am Barry Wood

The word for the day — yesterday, that is — was “inauguration.” To inaugurate is “to start,” “to dedicate” or “to induct (an official) into office with a formal ceremony.”

Tuesday’s inauguration of the 44th president of the United States was a combination of those three: the formal induction of Barack Obama, the start of his administration and a dedication to public service.

Interestingly, that “augur” in the middle of “inauguration” is about the future. “Inaugurate” comes from the Latin verb “inaugurare,” meaning “to practice augury; to consecrate (a person in office) by augury.” In ancient Rome, an augur was an official who interpreted omens concerning the prospects for success of a particular endeavor.

Generally, an “augur” is “a fortuneteller; prophet; soothsayer,” and an “augury” is “an omen; portent; indication.”

An inaugural seems an entirely appropriate place, then, for a president to lay out his vision for the future.

Entry Filed under: definitions, word origins