planchette

[plan-shet, -chet]

noun

a small, heart-shaped board supported by two casters and a pencil or stylus that, when moved across a surface by the light, unguided pressure of the fingertips, is supposed to trace meaningful patterns or written messages revealing subconscious thoughts, psychic phenomena, clairvoyant messages, etc.

Nearby words

Compare Ouija.

Origin of planchette

From French, dating back to 1855–60; see origin at planch, -ette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for planchette

I put my hands on the keyboard like on the planchette of a Ouija Board hoping to conjure something.
‘White Collar’ Creator Jeff Eastin: My Biggest Con|Jeff Eastin|July 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Arrived there, Planchette asked Spieghalter to stretch the magic skin.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol. I|Various
A sheet of paper of good size is spread upon a table, and the Planchette is placed thereupon.
Genuine Mediumship or The Invisible Powers|Bhakta Vishita
Aunt Mildred stirred briskly and looked up from the Planchette board.
Moon-Face and Other Stories|Jack London

The brazen head of Roger Bacon is mute; but is not "Planchette" uttering her responses in a hundred houses of this city?
Medical Essays|Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Jackson brought his chair-legs down again, and put his hand on the planchette.
The Landlord at Lion's Head, Complete|William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for planchette

planchette

noun

a heart-shaped board on wheels, on which messages are written under supposed spirit guidance

Word Origin for planchette

C19: from French: little board, from planche plank 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012