| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | messenger, herald |
| Synonyms: | advertiser, advocate, ancestor, announcer, author, envoy, forebearer, foregoer, harbinger, initiator, originator, pioneer, precursor, progenitor, prognostic, prototype |
| Main Entry: | ancestor |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | predecessor in family |
| Synonyms: | antecedent, antecessor, ascendant, forebear, forefather, foregoer, foremother, forerunner, founder, precursor, primogenitor, progenitor |
| Antonyms: | descendant |
| Main Entry: | ancestry |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | family predecessors; family history |
| Synonyms: | ancestor, antecedent, antecessor, blood, breed, breeding, derivation, descent, extraction, forebear, forefather, foregoer, foremother, forerunner, genealogy, heritage, house, kindred, line, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, precursor, primogenitor, progenitor, race, source, stock |
| Main Entry: | augury |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | omen |
| Synonyms: | auspice, boding, forerunner, foretoken, forewarning, harbinger, herald, portent, precursor, presage, prognostication, promise, prophecy, sign, token, warning |
| Notes: | omen has a negative connotation, a connotation absent from the word augury; generally, augury bodes well for the future, an omen bodes ill |
| Main Entry: | flagship |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | leader |
| Synonyms: | bellwether, chief, crown jewel, flotilla leader, forerunner, front runner, head, lead ship, mother ship |
| Main Entry: | forebearer |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | family predecessor |
| Synonyms: | ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, author, begetter, forerunner, founder, materfamilias, matriarch, originator, parent, paterfamilias, patriarch, precursor, primogenitor, procreator, progenitor, relative, sire |
| Main Entry: | front runner |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | leader |
| Synonyms: | best bet, favorite, first choice, forerunner, top seed |
| Main Entry: | harbinger |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | indication |
| Synonyms: | augury, forerunner, foretoken, herald, messenger, omen, portent, precursor, sign, signal |
| Notes: | a harbinger is an indication of the approach of something or someone; a messenger is a person who carries a communications or performs an errand; an omen is a sign of something about to happen |
| Main Entry: | herald |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | omen, messenger |
| Synonyms: | adviser, bearer, courier, crier, forerunner, harbinger, indication, outrider, precursor, prophet, reporter, runner, sign, signal, token |