Why Groundhogs Supposedly Predict The Weather On Groundhog Day

The portend of Punxsutawney Phil is " Faithful followers ... There is no shadow of me... A beautiful spring it shall be " ! This was read from the scroll this morning with all it's pomp and circumstance. Well lets just see ! LOL ! https://youtu.be/agyiJKgw9MM

Word of the Day : February 2, 2019

portend

verb por-TEND

Definition :

1 : to give an omen or anticipatory sign of.

2 : indicate, signify.

Did You Know ?

Portend has been used in English in the context of signs of things to come since the 15th century. The word derives from the Latin verb portendere, which means "to predict or foretell." That verb, in turn, developed as a combination of the prefix por- (meaning "forward") and the verb tendere (meaning "to stretch"). So you can think of portend as having a literal meaning of "stretching forward to predict." Additional descendants of tendere include extend, tendon, and tension, among others.

Examples :

The old saying about a halo around the moon portending rain has some truth to it: the halo is caused by cirrus clouds drifting 20,000 feet or more above the Earth, and high cirrus clouds often precede stormy weather.

"To most people, a shore gas station carrying sushi was but a footnote. But Chris could see that that addition portended a changing demographic." — Rona Kobell, quoted in The Baltimore Sun, 8 Nov. 2018.