foresight
nounUS /ˈfɔɹsaɪt/ · UK /ˈfɔːsaɪt/
Etymology From Middle English forsight, forsyght, forsichte (since 14th c.), a calque of Latin providentia. By surface analysis, fore- + sight. Compare Scots foresicht, Saterland Frisian Foarsicht, archaic Dutch voorzicht (now voorzichtigheid), German Vorsicht (all “caution, foresight”).
1
The ability, or the due use of one's ability, to foresee or prepare wisely for the future.
- Near-synonym: forethought
- Having the foresight to prepare an evacuation plan may have saved their lives.
4 more examples
- The rugged forhead that with graue foreſight / Welds kingdomes cauſes, & affaires of ſtate; […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 1:
- In the dead state all is apparently without motion. No agent within indicates design, intelligence, or foresight: […]1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization, Edinburgh; London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section I, page 2:
- The "D.N.B." wrote of one Railway Member that "he made himself personally acquainted with the working of the new systems of railroads, and with more foresight than his neighbours, he welcomed railways on his estate when other landowners were ordering their gamekeepers to warn off the surveyors or to put an end to their operations by force."1960 March 23, N. Caplan, “The Railway Member of Parliament”, in Railway Magazine, page 208:
- The specifiers of the Freightliner network had the foresight to base the rail journey on carrying ISO containers which are 8ft wide and originally 8ft tall (although now increased to a height of 9ft 6ins), with a variety of lengths.2020 May 20, Industry Insider, “An online boost for freight”, in Rail, page 68:
2
The ability to foresee future events in a supernatural or paranormal way, such as psychically.
3
The front sight on a firearm (e.g., rifle, handgun).
- Holonym: iron sights
- Derived terms
- foresighted, foresightful, foresightless, foresightly, foresighty
- Related terms
- foresee