portent Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a sign of something about to happen
    omen; prognostic; prodigy; prognostication; presage.
    • he looked for an omen before going into battle

WordNet

Por*tent" noun
Etymology
L. portentum. See Portend.
Definitions
  1. That which portends, or foretoken; esp., that which portends evil; a sign of coming calamity; an omen; a sign. Shak.
    My loss by dire portents the god foretold. Dryden.

Webster 1913