chiromancy

American  

[kahy-ruh-man-see] / ˈkaɪ rəˌmæn si /

noun

1. palmistry.

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chiromancy British  

/ ˈkaɪrəˌmænsɪ /

noun

1. another word for palmistry

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Other Word Forms

• chiromancer noun
• chiromantic adjective
• chiromantical adjective

Etymology

Origin of chiromancy

First recorded in 1520–30; chiro- + -mancy

Explanation

Chiromancy, or palmistry, is the art of reading palms to tell someone’s future. If you are in doubt about your future prom date or business venture, let chiromancy be your guide. If you like astrology and tarot cards, you might be interested in chiromancy, which involves looking at a person’s palms to determine their destiny. Chiromancy is a form of fortune-telling, and chiromancers look closely at the different lines on your palm to make predictions about your career, love life, and happiness. This is a rare word for what is usually called palmistry or palm-reading these days.

Example Sentences

Séances were a fad; so were hypnotism, chiromancy and telepathy.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2016

By the 17 century, the great age of wars of religion, palmistry, and chiromancy, knowledge of and on the hand would become major sciences.

From Slate • Nov. 15, 2012

Substituting an anatomical science�palmar dermatoglyphics�for the ancient pseudo-science of chiromancy.

From Time Magazine Archive

At Barcelona, Torralba saw, in the house of the Canon Juan Garcia, a book on chiromancy, and in some notes a process for winning money at play.

From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Llorente, Juan Antonio

The observation was new to him, and he seemed to be interested in it, as he always was in anything like chiromancy or metoscopy. 

From Memoirs by Leland, Charles Godfrey