What does palmistry mean?
Palmistry is the practice of interpreting the lines, shapes, and markings on a person’s palm as signs of personality, character, or future events. The term is used for a form of divination that is often associated with fortune-tellers, but it can also refer more broadly to the study and interpretation of palm markings. In everyday conversation, palmistry is often treated as a belief or entertainment rather than a scientifically reliable method. The word can therefore carry both traditional and somewhat skeptical connotations, depending on the speaker and context. Although its claims are not supported by established evidence, palmistry has appeared across many cultures and continues to be a familiar subject in popular culture, books, fairs, and informal entertainment.
nounThe practice or art of interpreting the lines and markings on a person’s palm as a means of divination. It is based on the belief that the hand’s features reveal character, personality, or future events.
- The practice or art of interpreting the lines and markings on a person’s palm for divination.
"She read his palm with a playful mixture of palmistry and curiosity."
"He was fascinated by palmistry and kept a book on the interpretation of hand markings."
"The fortune teller offered palmistry as one of several services at the market stall."
The plural is used when referring to different practices, systems, or instances of palmistry.
"The exhibition presented palmistries from several different traditions."
Palmistry turns the familiar lines on your hands into a supposed story about character and destiny.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of palmistry
Palmistry combines palm, from Latin palma, meaning the hand or the flat of the hand, with the suffix -istry, a form of -ist with a noun-forming meaning associated with a practice or field. The word developed in English during the 17th century in the context of the study of palm lines and related divination. Its senses are related to older traditions of interpreting bodily features, though the specific history of English palmistry is tied closely to popular occult and fortune-telling practices.
Related word forms
How palmistry is actually used
Palmistry is generally used for a traditional or popular form of divination. It is often associated with fortune-telling and may sound informal or superstitious in modern contexts, though it is also discussed as a historical belief system and cultural practice.
Easily confused with palmistry
Palmistry is the practice or art of interpreting palms, whereas a palmist is a person who practices it.