ceromancy
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós, “wax”) + -mancy.
Noun
ceromancy (uncountable)
- divination by pouring melted wax into water and interpreting the bubbles formed.
- 1660, Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv
- By Ceromancy, where, by the means of Wax dissolved into Water, thou shalt see the Figure, Poutrait and lively Representation of thy future Wife, and of her Fredin Fredaliatory Belly-thumping Blades.
- 1983, Complete Bk Predictions.
- In ceromancy, melted wax is allowed to drip into a shallow dish of cold water, and the resulting shapes are interpreted. Ceromancy was very popular in the eighteenth century, when correspondence was normally fastened with sealing wax.
- 1660, Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv