Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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.

Source : WordNet®

herald
     n 1: (formal) a person who announces important news; "the
          chieftain had a herald who announced his arrival with a
          trumpet" [syn: {trumpeter}]
     2: an indication of the approach of something or someone [syn:
        {harbinger}, {forerunner}, {precursor}]

herald
     v 1: foreshadow or presage [syn: {announce}, {annunciate}, {harbinger},
           {foretell}]
     2: praise vociferously; "The critics hailed the young pianist
        as a new Rubinstein" [syn: {acclaim}, {hail}]
     3: greet enthusiastically or joyfully [syn: {hail}]