Chiromancy

//ˈkaɪ.ɹə(ʊ).mæn.si// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of palmistry: fortune-telling performed by reading another's hand. uncountable, usually

    "If they fore-tell things that shall happen by signes that they see in lines of a mans hand; then it is called Chyromancie..."

  2. 2
    telling fortunes by lines on the palm of the hand wordnet

Example

More examples

""I don't believe in chiromancy!" said Tom, slapping away the hands of the fortune-teller from his palm."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ciromancie, from Middle French chiromantie, chiromancie, from Latin chīromantīa, from Ancient Greek χειρομαντεία (kheiromanteía), from χειρο- (kheiro-, “hand-”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination, fortune-telling”). Equivalent to chiro- + -mancy.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.