What does chiromantic mean?
Chiromantic is a formal adjective describing anything related to chiromancy, the ancient practice popularly known as palmistry — the claimed art of divining a person's character or future from the lines, mounts, and shape of the hands. Someone might describe a fortune-teller's chiromantic technique, a book of chiromantic lore, or a fairground booth offering chiromantic readings. The word derives from the Greek roots 'cheir' (hand) and 'manteia' (divination), making it a linguistic cousin of terms like chirography and cartomancy. In modern English, chiromantic is uncommon and decidedly literary; most speakers simply say 'palm reading' or 'palmistry.' When it does appear, it lends a historical, slightly arcane flavor, evoking Victorian drawing rooms, traveling fairs, and Renaissance manuals of divination more than contemporary usage. The corresponding nouns are chiromancy (the practice itself) and chiromancer (the practitioner).
Of, relating to, or characteristic of chiromancy; involving the interpretation of the hand for divination.
"She kept a leather-bound volume of chiromantic diagrams on the shelf beside her tarot cards."
Formal and somewhat archaic in tone; 'palmistry-related' or 'of palmistry' would be plainer alternatives.
Rarely, a practitioner of palmistry; one who claims to read character or fortune from the hand.
"The traveling chiromantic set up his table at the edge of the fairground."
This noun sense is rare; 'chiromancer' or 'palmist' is the usual term for a palm reader.
Every chiromantic reading traces back to the same Greek root as 'surgery' — literally 'hand-work.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chiromantic
Chiromantic comes from the Greek 'cheir' meaning hand and 'manteia' meaning divination, via the Latinized form chiromantia. The underlying noun, chiromancy, entered European learned usage in the later medieval and early modern periods, when palm-reading was treated alongside astrology as a branch of divination. The adjective chiromantic was formed in English on that model, and it shares its hand-root with cognates such as chirography (handwriting) and chiral (handedness in science).
Related word forms
How chiromantic is actually used
Chiromantic is a formal or literary term, far less common than its base noun 'chiromancy' or the everyday words 'palmistry' and 'palm reading.' It carries an antiquated, slightly mystical connotation and appears mostly in historical, literary, or descriptive writing about fortune-telling traditions. Its noun use ('a chiromantic') is rare; 'chiromancer' is the standard noun for a practitioner.
Easily confused with chiromantic
A chiromancer is the person who reads palms, whereas chiromantic describes anything pertaining to that art.
Chiropractic refers to a system of physical therapy treating the spine and joints, while chiromantic pertains to fortune-telling by reading the hand.