palmistry
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of palmistry
1375–1425; late Middle English pawmestry, equivalent to pawm palm 1 + -estry (origin obscure; cf. -y 3)
Explanation
A fortune teller who looks closely at the lines on your palm and predicts your future practices palmistry. Palmistry is also called "palm reading." If you decide to master the art of palmistry, you'll learn about certain palm lines like the "life line" and the "heart line," which run through the middle of your palm, as well as subtler creases like "union lines," said to predict romantic relationships. The idea that palmistry can predict the future or reveal secrets about your character are ancient but unproven — most people consider it a pseudoscience, or an unscientific belief.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Palmists read fortunes in the lines and irregularities of the hand.
From Early European History by Webster, Hutton
Palmists would tell you that with that hand I shall never ‘hold money.’
From A Question of Marriage by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
Palmists or clairvoyants would prophesy a future for her, simply through looking in her eyes; but whether notoriety is to be won by downfalling or uprising were better left unstated.
From When the Birds Begin to Sing by Piffard, Harold
The Palmists appear to be doing so uncommonly well just now, that this year will be memorable, for them at least, as "the Palmy days" of chiromancy.
From Punch,or The London Charivari, Volume 105, July 22nd, 1893 by Various
From the contour of the slope, remembered from a past visit, he was aware of nearing the Lac des Palmists, which marked the summit-level.
From She Buildeth Her House by Comfort, William Wistar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
