A soothsayer is someone who claims to predict the future or reveal hidden truths. The word comes from an old meaning of “sooth,” which meant truth, so a soothsayer literally means a “truth-teller.”

In ancient times, kings and generals consulted soothsayers before making important decisions about wars, voyages, or succession. These fortune-tellers might read signs in the flight of birds, the patterns of tea leaves, or the lines on someone's palm. The most famous soothsayer in literature appears in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, warning “Beware the Ides of March” to predict Caesar's assassination.

Today, we understand that soothsayers can't actually see the future, though people once took their predictions very seriously. You might hear someone called a soothsayer as a joke when they make a lucky guess, like a friend who correctly predicts the winner of a close basketball game. The word carries a slightly mystical, old-fashioned feeling, which is why we're more likely to encounter soothsayers in historical novels or fantasy stories than in real life. Modern equivalents might include fortune-tellers, psychics, or astrologers, though none of these can truly predict what hasn't happened yet.