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Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
présage
English translation:
prescience / augury / presentiment / foreknowledge
French term
France
Engineering, medicine, chemistry
Native in: Russian 
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, French to Russian
présage (context)
Could you help me? I can't pick out a good word.
Context:
C'est la lumière feutrée du possible, la lumière de la renaissance, qui ouvre la porte au renouveau et aux *présages* qui pourront éclore si la volonté de renaître est réélle.
The author speaks about autumn. The sense is positive.
Thank you in advance!
| 4 +1 | prescience / auguries |
Helen Shiner
|
| 4 +3 | possibilities |
MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MA
|
| 4 +2 | promises / predictions / portents / omens |
Katarina Peters
|
| 4 +1 | presentiments |
Jenn Mercer
|
| 3 +1 | promised delight |
Anne-Marie Grant (X)
|
Mar 15, 2009 14:47: Helen Shiner changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/717772">svetlana cosquéric's</a> old entry - "présage (context)"" to ""prescience ""
Non-PRO (1): writeaway
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Proposed translations
France
Arts/Academic translator - Art historian
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
prescience / auguries
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
http://www.artofeurope.com/blake/bla3.htm
prescience - to have foreknowledge or foresight
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-03-14 19:09:12 GMT)
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Main Entry: pre·science
Pronunciation: \ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s, ˈprē-, -s(ē-)ən(t)s\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin praescientia, from Latin praescient-, praesciens, present participle of praescire to know beforehand, from prae- + scire to know — more at science
Date:14th century
: foreknowledge of events: a: divine omniscience b: human anticipation of the course of events : foresight
— pre·scient \-sh(ē-)ənt, -s(ē-)ənt\ adjective
— pre·scient·ly adverb
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prescience
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Note added at 21 hrs (2009-03-15 14:47:39 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for the points, svetlanac
| agree |
Katarina Peters
: Yes, both are certainly more poetic
4 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Katarina - in the end, it'll depend on the Asker's context, won't it? Thanks for your generosity.
|
promised delight
| Thank you, Anne-Marie ! Thanks for your comments and explication! |
"Excellence with Integrity"
Native in: Italian 
, English
Works in: Italian to English, French to English, Spanish to English
possibilities
| Thank you, MaryAnn! |
| agree |
K. Ganly (X)
: I think this is the best way to convey the positive meaning
4 mins
|
| agree |
Anne-Marie Grant (X)
: That's very good.
10 mins
|
| agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
: gut gelöst
18 mins
|
| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: I think it is a shame to lose the sense of foreknowledge. In EN, to presage does not have such negative connotations, by the way.
33 mins
|
Canada
Accuracy and A1 presentation
Native in: Hungarian , English (Variant: US)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Hungarian to English, and 13 more.
promises / predictions / portents / omens
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Note added at 9 mins (2009-03-14 17:28:57 GMT)
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premonitions
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Note added at 45 mins (2009-03-14 18:05:09 GMT)
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"Omen" can be both good or bad, as in "that's a good (or bad) omen", i.e., a "good (or bad) sign".
| Do you think you can educate me? "omen", I was always sure, that it's not very optimistic? |
| Thank you, Katarina! |
| Thank you, Katarina! |
| agree |
cjohnstone
: if omens
15 mins
|
|
Thanks, Catherine
|
|
| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: I think portents and omens, though they can be used positively, are on their own rather negative. In my view, FWIW, predictions has the right sense absolutely, but may not be poetic enough.
1 hr
|
|
Thanks Helen for your view!
|
|
| agree |
lundy
: I like "promises" because it is in line with the positive connotations of the text
15 hrs
|
|
Thanks lundy!
|
United States
ATA-Certified FR to EN Translator
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: French to English
presentiments
| Thank you, Jenn! |
Discussion