spirit rapping

American

noun

Spiritualism.

a form of communication between living persons and the spirits of deceased persons by tapping out messages on a table, board, or the like.

Other Word Forms

spirit rapper noun

Etymology

Origin of spirit rapping

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

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.

I hear a spirit rapping at the door.'

From Project Gutenberg

The Fox sisters, to whom we owe the origin of modern spiritism, confessed that this was the way they produced their spirit rapping.

From Project Gutenberg

The exhibitions consisted of the usual phenomena, table turning, spirit rapping and the moving of large bodies by invisible means.

From Project Gutenberg

We have now come to the closing section of this already long essay,—namely, to the explanation of such phenomena as table-tipping, spirit rapping and dictation, and distant transmission of thought.

From Project Gutenberg

Sladder: The wife of the head of my firm believed in spirit rapping.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023