chironomy

English

Alternative forms

• chieronomy

Etymology

From French chironomie and directly from Latin chīronomia, from Ancient Greek χειρονομία (kheironomía, “gesturing, gesticulation”), from χειρονόμος (kheironómos, “mime, skilled gesturer”), from χειρο- (kheiro-, “hand-”) + νόμος (nómos, “controller, manager”), from νέμω (némō, “to control, to manage”).

Noun

chironomy (usually uncountable, plural chironomies)

1. (rhetoric) The art of using effective hand gestures, especially (historical) in Greco-Roman contexts.
2. (music) The skill of conducting music with hand gestures.

References

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