foreshadow

Definition

To suggest (someone or something) in advance; to prefigure, to presage.

Etymology

The verb is derived from fore- (prefix meaning ‘before with respect to time, earlier’) + shadow (“to shade, cloud, or darken”, verb). The noun is derived from fore- + shadow (“faint and imperfect representation”, noun), probably modelled after the verb which is attested earlier.

Example Sentences

• "[T]he ceremonies commaunded in the lawe, did foreſhadowe Chriſt."
• "[T]hat the excellency and efficacy of this [Jesus's] death and passion might appear, it was by manifold types foreshadowed, and in divers prophecies foretold."
• ""Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said [Ebenezer] Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!""