What does auspice mean?
Definitions for auspice
ˈɔ spɪs; ˈɔ spə sɪzaus·pice
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word auspice.
Princeton's WordNet
auspicenoun
a favorable omen
Wiktionary
auspicenoun
Patronage or protection.
This building was built under the auspices of the Friends of the Poor.
auspicenoun
An omen or a sign.
The circle of vultures was not a good auspice.
auspicenoun
Divination from the actions of birds.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
AUSPICEnoun
Etymology: auspicium, Lat.
Great father Mars, and greater Jove,
By whose high auspice Rome hath stood
So long. Ben Jonson, Catiline.But so may he live long, that town to sway,
Which by his auspice they will nobler make,
As he will hatch their ashes by his stay. John Dryden, Ann. Mir.
Wikipedia
auspice
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin auspicium) literally means "looking at birds", and Latin auspex, another word for "augur", literally means "one who looks at birds". Depending upon the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable (auspicious or inauspicious). Sometimes politically motivated augurs would fabricate unfavorable auspices in order to delay certain state functions, such as elections. Pliny the Elder attributes the invention of auspicy to Tiresias the seer of Thebes, the generic model of a seer in the Greco-Roman literary culture.This type of omen reading was already a millennium old in the time of Classical Greece: in the fourteenth-century BC diplomatic correspondence preserved in Egypt called the "Amarna correspondence", the practice was familiar to the king of Alasia in Cyprus who needed an 'eagle diviner' to be sent from Egypt. This earlier, indigenous practice of divining by bird signs, familiar in the figure of Calchas, the bird-diviner to Agamemnon, who led the army (Iliad I.69), was largely replaced by sacrifice-divination through inspection of the sacrificial victim's liver—haruspices—during the Orientalizing period of archaic Greek culture. Plato notes that hepatoscopy held greater prestige than augury by means of birds.One of the most famous auspices is the one which is connected with the founding of Rome. Once the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued over where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus was set on building the city upon the Palatine, but Remus wanted to build the city on the strategic and easily fortified Aventine Hill. The two agreed to settle their argument by testing their abilities as augures and by the will of the gods. Each took a seat on the ground apart from one another, and, according to Plutarch, Remus saw six vultures, while Romulus saw twelve. Vultures were pre-eminent in Roman augury, furnishing the strongest signs an augur could receive from a wild bird. They were subject to protective taboos and also called ‘sacred birds’.
ChatGPT
auspice
Auspice is a term that refers to kind support, guidance or protection, often implying sponsorship or patronage from a powerful individual, body or divine entity. It can also refer to a sign or prediction, usually positive, of things to come, derived from the ancient Roman practice of interpreting omens from the observed flight of birds.
Webster Dictionary
Auspiceadjective
a divining or taking of omens by observing birds; an omen as to an undertaking, drawn from birds; an augury; an omen or sign in general; an indication as to the future
Auspiceadjective
protection; patronage and care; guidance
Etymology: [L. auspicium, fr. auspex: cf. F. auspice. See Auspicate, a.]
Wikidata
Auspice
An auspice is literally "one who looks at birds", a diviner who reads omens from the observed flight of birds. This type of omen reading was already a millennium old in the time of Classical Greece: in the fourteenth-century BCE diplomatic correspondence preserved in Egypt called the "Amarna correspondence", the practice was familiar to the king of Alasia in Cyprus who has need of an 'eagle diviner' to be sent from Egypt. This earlier, indigenous practice of divining by bird signs, familiar in the figure of Calchas, the bird-diviner to Agamemnon, who has led the army, was largely replaced by sacrifice-divination through inspection of the sacrificial victim's liver— haruspices— during the Orientalizing period of archaic Greek culture. Plato notes that hepatoscopy held greater prestige than augury by means of birds. In ancient Roman religion, the auspices provided divine signs to be interpreted by an augur. An augur would perform a ceremony and would read flight patterns of birds in the sky. Depending upon the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable. Sometimes bribed or politically motivated augures would fabricate unfavorable auspices in order to delay certain state functions, such as elections. Pliny the Younger attributes the invention of auspicy to Tiresias the seer of Thebes, the generic model of a seer in the Greco-Roman literary culture.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Auspice
aw′spis, n. an omen drawn from observing birds: augury—generally used in pl. Au′spices, protection: patronage: a good start (generally in phrase, Under the auspices of).—v.t. Au′spicate, to foreshow: to initiate or inaugurate with hopes of good luck:—pr.p. au′spicāting; pa.p. au′spicāted.—adj. Auspi′cious, having good auspices or omens of success: favourable: fortunate: propitious.—adv. Auspi′ciously.—n. Auspi′ciousness. [Fr.—L. auspicium—auspex, auspicis, a bird-seer, from avis, a bird, specĕre, to observe.]
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of auspice in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of auspice in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
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Translations for auspice
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"auspice." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 10 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/auspice>.
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