prophesy

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
prophesy /ˈprɒfɪsʌɪ/

▶verb (prophesies, prophesying, prophesied)

• 1 predict.

• 2 speak or write by divine inspiration.

– derivatives
prophesier noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. profecier, from profecie (see prophecy); the different spellings of prophesy and prophecy were established after 1700.

usage: The words prophesy and prophecy are often confused. Prophesy is the spelling that should be used for the verb (he was prophesying a bumper harvest), whereas prophecy is the correct spelling for the noun (a bleak prophecy of war and ruin).