From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Palmistry \Pal'mis*try\, noun [See {Palmister}.]
1. The art or practice of divining or telling fortunes, or of judging of character, by the lines and marks in the palm of the hand; chiromancy. --Ascham. --Cowper.
2. A dexterous use or trick of the hand. --Addison.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: telling fortunes by lines on the palm of the hand [syn: {palm reading}, {chiromancy}, {chirology}]
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
PALMISTRY, noun The 947th method (according to Mimbleshaw's classification) of obtaining money by false pretences. It consists in "reading character" in the wrinkles made by closing the hand. The pretence is not altogether false; character can really be read very accurately in this way, for the wrinkles in every hand submitted plainly spell the word "dupe." The imposture consists in not reading it aloud.
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0