1. (n.) One who bears a message; the bearer of a verbal or written communication, notice, or invitation, from one person to another, or to a public body; specifically, an office servant who bears messages.

2. (n.) One who, or that which, foreshows, or foretells.

3. (n.) A hawser passed round the capstan, and having its two ends lashed together to form an endless rope or chain; -- formerly used for heaving in the cable.

4. (n.) A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent.

Hermes Mercury Pheidippides ancestor announcer antecedent avant-garde bellwether buccinator buccinator novi temporis bushwhacker commissar commissary commissionaire commissioner courier delegate emissary envoy explorer forebear foregoer forerunner foreshadower front runner frontiersman fugleman go-between gofer groundbreaker guide harbinger herald innovator intermediary lead runner leader legate minister nuncio page pathfinder pioneer point precedent precursor predecessor premonitor presager runner scout secretary stormy petrel trailblazer trailbreaker vanguard vaunt-courier voortrekker