But word of its horrible condition is spreading through the souks, where traders see it as a bad omen.
It harms no creature, and its presence is considered a good omen.
You'd think her da was dead wrong when he worried about the omen of the sun on the day of her birth.
The couple take this bit of news as a bad omen and the fragile ties they have rebuilt fall apart.
British Dictionary definitions for omen
omen
/ˈəʊmən/
noun
1.
a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster
2.
prophetic significance
verb
3.
(transitive) to portend
Word Origin
C16: from Latin
Word Origin and History for omen
n.
1580s, from Latin omen "foreboding," from Old Latin osmen, of unknown origin; perhaps connected with the root of audire "to hear" [OED] or from PIE *o- "to believe, hold as true" (cf. Greek oiomai "I suppose, think, believe").