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one of a group of ancient Roman officials charged with observing and interpreting omens for guidance in public affairs.
soothsayer; prophet.
to divine or predict, as from omens; prognosticate.
to serve as an omen or promise of; foreshadow; betoken:
Mounting sales augur a profitable year.
to conjecture from signs or omens; predict.
to be a sign; bode:
The movement of troops augurs ill for the peace of the area.
to argue, talk, or converse.
an excessively talkative person.
Contemporary Examples

Maybe it is even true, though their absence on June 24 does not augur well.
Vet Snub Shocks Families Leslie H. Gelb July 17, 2010

Whether that could augur a civil war in the country remains to be seen.
Iran on the Brink Reza Aslan February 8, 2010

Nobody really knows how the new leadership there will try to prove itself, but past experience does not augur well for the future.
After Davos: Holding the Financial Beasts at Bay Christopher Dickey January 29, 2012

This seemed to augur the perfect result, close enough for some drama but with enough separation to avoid an all-nighter.
Super Tuesday Surprises: Catholics for Romney, Women for Santorum, and More Ben Jacobs March 6, 2012

And they augur badly for the overall effort, revealing the deep level of distrust the Turkish president harbors for the West.
Turkish President Declares Lawrence of Arabia a Bigger Enemy than ISIS Jamie Dettmer October 12, 2014

Historical Examples

The elder was an invalid, who never held any office except that of augur, and died at an early age.
Cato Maior de Senectute Marcus Tullius Cicero

Chipping it with an adze, and boring it with an augur, to ascertain its quality.
The Sailor’s Word-Book William Henry Smyth

Az a general thing, the bigger the augur iz, the bigger the hole, unless you bore into a mill pond.
Josh Billings on Ice Henry Wheeler Shaw

In so far their suggestion would not augur well for the execution.
Face to Face with Kaiserism James W. Gerard

Bore ten holes (with a 1/4-inch augur) equi-distant apart through the 20-foot strips and the 10-foot strip under them.
Flying Machines W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell

noun
Also called auspex. (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed and interpreted omens and signs to help guide the making of public decisions
any prophet or soothsayer
verb
to predict (some future event), as from signs or omens
(transitive; may take a clause as object) to be an omen (of); presage
(intransitive) to foreshadow future events to be as specified; bode: this augurs well for us
n.

1540s, from Latin augur, a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens, perhaps originally meaning “an increase in crops enacted in ritual,” in which case it probably is from Old Latin *augos (genitive *augeris) “increase,” and is related to augere “increase” (see augment). The more popular theory is that it is from Latin avis “bird,” because the flights, singing, and feeding of birds, along with entrails from bird sacrifices, were important objects of divination (cf. auspicious). In that case, the second element would be from garrire “to talk.”
v.

c.1600, from augur (n.). Related: Augured; auguring.