Au'spi-cāte1, v. t.
v. t. [Lat. auspicare, auspicari, from auspex, a bird seer, a contraction of avispex, from avis, bird, and specere, spicere, to view.]
Sense 1. To give a favorable turn to in commencing;—a sense taken from the Roman practice of taking the auspicium, or inspection of birds, before they undertook any important business.
They auspicate all their proceedings. Burke.
Sense 2. To foreshow; to foretoken. [Obs.] B. Jonson.