different between foretoken vs threaten

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English foretokne, fortacne, from Old English foret?cn, foret?cen (“foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder”), equivalent to fore- +? token. Cognate with Dutch voorteken, German Low German Vörteken, German Vorzeichen.

Noun

foretoken (plural foretokens)

1. A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentment.

Etymology 2

From Middle English *foretoknen, fortaknen, from Old English foret?cnian (“to foreshow”).

Verb

foretoken (third-person singular simple present foretokens, present participle foretokening, simple past and past participle foretokened)

1. (transitive) To betoken beforehand; prognosticate; foreshadow; give warning of; presage.

Derived terms

• foretokening

English

Etymology

From Middle English þreaten or þreten, from Old English þr?atian.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thr?t?n?, IPA^(key): /????t.n?/
• Hyphenation: threat?en

Verb

threaten (third-person singular simple present threatens, present participle threatening, simple past and past participle threatened)

1. To make a threat against someone; to use threats.

   He threatened me with a knife.

2. To menace, or be dangerous.

   The rocks threatened the ship's survival.

3. To portend, or give a warning of.

   The black clouds threatened heavy rain.

4. (figuratively) To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)
   • 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, ?ISBN, page 69

     The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laughter.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Translations