To predict or announce something that will happen in the future; to prophesy.
From Old English 'foretellian,' combining 'fore-' (before) and 'tellan' (to tell). This is a straightforward combination meaning 'to tell beforehand.' The word has remained virtually unchanged for over a thousand years.
Interestingly, 'foretell' is one of the few English words where the prefix 'fore-' clearly comes before in time rather than space—while 'forehead' is a body part and 'forest' is just a grouping, 'foretell' really does mean telling about the future!
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