onychomancy

English

Etymology

onycho- +‎ -mancy

Noun

onychomancy (uncountable)

1. An ancient form of divination based on the symbols that are reflected by sunlight on a person's fingernails.

   Synonym: onymancy

   • 2016, Brendan Dooley, Angelica's Book and the World of Reading in Late Renaissance Italy:

     I am still not sure what to make of this treatise on onychomancy, that is, divining by observing the fingernails, except that he accounted for the practice as an example of the acute application of observational technique to the signs and symbols left by intelligent nature for humans to decipher in view of some benefit.

Derived terms

• onychomancer (rare)

References

• “onychomancy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.