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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Herald \Her"ald\, n. [OE. herald, heraud, OF. heralt, heraut,
herault, F. h['e]raut, LL. heraldus, haraldus, fr. (assumed)
OHG. heriwalto, hariwaldo, a (civil) officer who serves the
army; hari, heri, army waltan to manage, govern, G. walten;
akin to E. wield. See {Harry}, {Wield}.]
1. (Antiq.) An officer whose business was to denounce or
proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace,
and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was
invested with a sacred and inviolable character.
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2. In the Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above
duties, and also with the care of genealogies, of the
rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of
armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this
office remain, especially in England. See {Heralds'
College} (below), and {King-at-Arms}.
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3. A proclaimer; one who, or that which, publishes or
announces; as, the herald of another's fame. --Shak.
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4. A forerunner; a a precursor; a harbinger.
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It was the lark, the herald of the morn. --Shak.
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5. Any messenger. "My herald is returned." --Shak.
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{Heralds' College}, in England, an ancient corporation,
dependent upon the crown, instituted or perhaps recognized
by Richard III. in 1483, consisting of the three
Kings-at-Arms and the Chester, Lancaster, Richmond,
Somerset, Windsor, and York Heralds, together with the
Earl Marshal. This retains from the Middle Ages the charge
of the armorial bearings of persons privileged to bear
them, as well as of genealogies and kindred subjects; --
called also {College of Arms}.
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Herald \Her"ald\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Heralded}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Heralding}.] [Cf. OF. herauder, heraulder.]
To introduce, or give tidings of, as by a herald; to
proclaim; to announce; to foretell; to usher in. --Shak.
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