metopomancy
English edit
Etymology edit
From French métopomantie (from Ancient Greek μέτωπον (métōpon, “forehead”)), later reformed after + -mancy.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /mɪˈtɒpəmænsi/
- (General American) IPA(key): /mɪˈtɑpəmænsi/
Noun edit
metopomancy (uncountable)
- (now historical) Divination by interpreting the facial lines and wrinkles, especially the forehead. [from 17th c.]
- 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 231:
- These elaborate systems of divination, with their subdivisions, such as divination by moles on the face, or lines on the forehead (metopomancy), had been set out in many medieval treatises […].
Synonyms edit
References edit
- "Metopomantie" in Cotgrave Dictionarie of French & English Tongues (1632): "f. Diuination by the face"
- "Metopomancy" in Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary (1974): "fortunetelling by examining the face."