Etymology Citations: Middle English Citations: modern In Dictionaries
It is essentially a variant of negromancy with loss of initial n. A similar process happen in Old French where the word igromancie appears. The loss of the initial n may be the result of metanalysis, i.e. the mis-analysing of a negromancy as an egromancy, however the use of word as a count noun is less common.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 176
(MED): A feire mayden...suster to Hardogebrant that moche knoweth of
egremauncye.
Ibid. 508: She...lerned so moche of egremauncye
that the peple cleped hir afterward Morgain le fee.
a1500 Methodius(3) 869 (MED): Thus antecryst xall wondyrly be noryschyd vp with Iogulars, With wytchecraft & with sorcery...He xall lere Igramansy.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: egromancy [minor
words list; defined as corrupted form of necromancy]
It is presumedly derived from the Greek elaion) olive-oil, though the usual, "regular", combining forms from this Greek root are elaio-, elæo- and eleo-. Often oil was dropped into water when used for divining, and a mixture of water and oil (called in ancient Greek chytla) for rubbing into the skin after bathing, was possibly used in divination.
1961 H.E. Wedeck Treasury of Witchcraft xii.
233: Divination by observation of a liquid surface is known as
elaeomancy.
From ancient Greek empyron manteia divination from ta empyra burnt sacrifices. From empyros burning, fiery, on fire.
Not in recorded in OED, and although in the second edition of
Webster's, it is not present in the third.
Rakoczi (1970) seems to have got it the wrong
way around by stating that empyromancy did not involve
bloodshed. The wording of the passage is reminiscent of Garman's
discussion of pyromancy, of
which there was a vegetable form.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: empyromancy [minor words list]
1961 H.E. Wedeck Treasury of Witchcraft xii. 220: An exhaustive listing would become overwhelming. Let there be mentioned hepatoscopy and critomancy, daphnomancy and empyromancy, ichthyomancy and lampadomancy, margaritomancy and molybdomancy.
1970 B.I. Rakoczi in Man, Myth & Magic v. 659/2: Another method, favoured by the Pythagoreans, who disliked bloodshed and therefore would not practise the inspection of the entrails common in antiquity, was called empyromancy. In this the seer concentrated on the smoke which rose from the burning of the incense or of laurel leaves or other sacred plants.
1973 Collier's Encyc. x. 211/1: Pyromancy (Empyromancy)...fire
1985 G. Luck Arcana Mundi 253: Pyromancy (or empyromancy) is divination by fire or signs derived from fire...
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x. 77: Empyromancy - Fire.
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
209: empyromancy a form of divination involving a fire and
smoke.
There is some conjecture about the form of this word. Clearly this
form would be derived from the ancient Greek enoptos visible
in (a thing), seen in (something). The OED states that this is merely
an error for enoptromancy occurring in some dictionaries.
I would tend to agree that it is probably an error, and there are
basically three reasons for this:
1. most similar compounds have an ancient Greek noun
as their first element, not an adjective;
2. the earliest form includes the r - see
Smedley, and,
3. the word occurs in French as &eaccute;noptromancie.
1899 Century Dict. (1902) III.: enoptomancy.. Divination by means of a mirror. Smart.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. i.: [see A HREF="#1908">next]
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) III.: enoptomancy, s. [Gr. enoptos = visible in a thing, and manteia = prophecy, divination. Perhaps we should read enoptromancy, from Gr. enoptron = a mirror.] Divination by means of a mirror.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.:
enoptomancy/enoptromancy [minor words list]
Recorded firstly in Smedley, from whence it made its way into 19th century dictionaries. The (most probably erroneous) variant form enoptomancy found favour early on, but no longer appears in dictionaries. Webster's 2nd edition records it, but it has been dropped by the 3rd edition.
From French &eaccute;noptromancie, from Greek enoptron a mirror.
1855 Elihu Rich in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 321: CATOPTROMANCY, or ENOPTROMANCY, Is a species of divination by the mirror, which Pausanius describes in these terms: - "Before the temple of Ceres at Patras there was a fountain, separated from the temple by a wall, and there was an oracle, very truthful, not for all events but for the sick only. The sick persons let down a mirror, suspended by a thread, till its base touched the surface of the water, having first prayed to the goddess and offered incense. Then, looking in the mirror, he saw the presage of death or recovery, according as the face appeared fresh and healthy, or of a ghastly aspect." Another method of using the mirror was to place it at the back of a boy's or girl's head, whose eyes were bandaged. In Thessaly, the response appeared in characters of blood on the face of the moon, probably represented in the mirror. The Thessalian sorceresses derived their art from the Persians, who always endeavoured to plant their religion and mystic rites in the countries they invaded.
1891 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. i.: enoptromancy..Divination with a mirror. ..enoptomancy [marked as variant]
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) III.: [see A HREF="#1909">prev.]
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: enoptomancy/enoptromancy [minor words list]
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 95/1: [copying Rich]
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict.: enoptromancy..divination by means of a mirror.
1974 Mrs. Byrne's Dict.: enoptromancy..fortunetelling with a mirror.
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x. 77: Enoptromancy - A mirror.
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 209: enoptromancy a form of divination involving a mirror and its reflections.
1993 McCormack Q&A 70: ENOPTROMANCY - a mirror.
The most obvious insect related to fortune telling would, however, have to be the mantis. This is the ancient Greek name for the insect, and, is identically the same as the word mantis meaning, a diviner. According to Suidas this insect was a type of slow, green, locust. It had long, thin fore-feet, and was possibly, though not necessarily, the same as our praying mantis, though exactly what insect it was is unknown. Apparently it was observed for divinatory purposes. Unfortunately not a lot more is known about it and why it deserved its name. Our modern praying mantis is so-called from the prayer-like attitude of the front-legs, but this is only a modern appellation, dating back to the 17th century.
This word is quite uncommon, and is not recorded in OED or other dictionaries. It quite probably was invented quite recently, as the sole citation suggests. From Greek entomos an insect.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 142:
Entomomancy Predicting from the appearance and behavior of
insects.
Etymologically I guess this is correct, however it does represent
the pronunciation better.
The latter two citations are even worse forms since they don't even
fit their definitions well. What is being described is rather a
specific form of hydromancy known
as lecanomancy.
1608 John Day Law-Trickes or who would have thought it
IV. ii (OED):
Deep Eromancy, or the pretious soule
Of Geomantique spells and Characters.
1623 Cockeram The English Dictionarie: Eromancie, divination by things in the ayre.
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 149/1: Eromanty: [sic] One of the six kinds of divination practised among the Persians by means of air. They enveloped their heads in a napkin and exposed to the air a vase filled with water, over which they mutter in a low voice the objects of their desires. If the surface of the air [sic] shows bubbles it is regarded as a happy prognostication.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. &
Prophecy (1989) 317: EROMANCY: An Oriental form of
divination in which a person covers his head with a cloth and mutters
questions above a vase of water. Any stirring of the surface is regarded
as a good omen.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. Magic ii. 461: Among the various other kinds of divination not here mentioned may be enumerated Chilomancy performed with keys; Alphitomancy or Aleuromancy, by flour; Keraunoscopia, by the consideration of thunder; Eychnomancy, by lamps; Ooscopy, by eggs; Licanomancy by a basin of water; Palpitatim, Salisatio, by the pulsation or motion of some member etc.
[text copied in] 1903 Daniels & Stevans Encyc.
Occult Sci. (1971) III 1662.