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

Derived Forms

• chiromantic
  adjective
• chiromancer
  noun
• 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

Certainly our ancient enthusiasts record can be learned and used systematically, exactly as is the case with such excellent and approved systems of chiromancy as Mr. Heron-Allen's and others.

From The Square of Sevens An Authoritative Method of Cartomancy with a Prefatory Note by Prime-Stevenson, Edward

And I do believe that chiromancy can give us a glance into the future, and that the hand is a page on which the lines of our fate have been traced by Destiny.

From The Prussian Terror by Dumas, Alexandre