Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Word of the Day

geomancy \JEE-uh-man-see\,
noun:
divination by geographic features or by figures or lines.

It was classified as a work on omens, portents, and prodigies, and placed in the category of 'Principles of Form' among works on geomancy and physiognomy (now lost) in the official dynastic bibliography of the Former Han.
-- Anne Birrell, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas," 1999

Vainly I consulted the stars and made use of geomancy and necromancy…
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Lost Worlds," 1944

Geomancy came to English in the 1300s from the Greek roots meaning "earth" and "divination."

Dictionary.com