I think this word means: Someone or something that brings negative news… harbinger of death. Actual definition: \HAR-bin-juhr, noun: 1. (Archaic) One who provides lodgings; especially, the officer of the English royal household who formerly preceded the court when traveling, to provide and prepare lodgings. 2. A forerunner; a precursor; one that presages or foreshadows what is to come.