From Latin oculus an eye.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: OCULOMANCY: A form of divination from the eyes.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. &
Prophecy (1989) 321: OCULOMANCY: Divination dependent upon
a study of a person's eyes. Akin to hypnotism in a primitive form.
From the ancient Greek odont-, combining form of odoys a tooth.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: odontomancy, the teeth. 1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1990 Raffel tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel
xxv. 308: 'And there's oil-onomancy: all we need is oil and wax.
From the ancient Greek oinos wine.
Recorded only since the 17th century. One could however mistakenly believe that the word dates back to the 15th century if one happened to look up the headword -mancy in the OED. Here the illustrative citation for the Middle English period contains an error. The word ornomancie (See ornomancy) is substituted by oinomancie!
[1713 Fabricii Bibliographia Antiquaria xii. 417: Oenomantia, s[ive] divinatio ex vino libato.]
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 330: [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Oinomancy, by the lees of wine. [citing Hone citing Gaule]
1931 Lock tr. de Givry Picture Museum of Sorcery (1963) viii. 307: The procedure known as the 'three vases of Artephius' is a divinatory method related to the magic mirror, hydromancy, and oinomancy, and summarizes them all.
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Oinomancy, by wine.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Oenomancy - from the apperance of wine poured in libation.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: OLINOMANCY: Utilizes wine in determining omens.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 321: OINOMANCY: The art of divination through a study of wines, including their color, their appearance, and their taste. This dates from ancient Greece and Rome, when wine was poured as a libation to the gods, in hope that they would ensure a prosperous future. Drinking to someone's health is a modern survival of such customs.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 143: Oenomancy Predicting from the patterns made by wine poured out as an offering to the gods.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: OENOMANCY - wine.
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii. œnomancy..A mode of divination among the Greeks, from the color, sound, &c. of wine poured out in libations.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: œnomancy.. A mode of divination among the ancient Greeks, from the color, sound, and other peculiarities of wine when poured out in libations.
1902 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: œnomancy..The art of divining by the color or other peculiarities of wine.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: œnomancy .. Divination by the color or other peculiarities of wine. [main words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: oenomancy, oinomancy, wine.
1974 Mrs. Byrne's Dict.: oenomancy..fortunetelling with wine.
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.): oenomancy..the use of wine in determining omens.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: oenomancy (wine)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 211: oenomancy, oinomancy a form of divination involving observation of the colors and other features of wine.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict.: oenomancy
From the ancient Greek ololygon the croak of a male frog.
This word appeared in a 1980s version of Roget's Thesaurus which
contained a rather full list of -mancys. I have not been able to
track down the particular edition since I saw it in a bookshop
many years back, however.
From the ancient Greek omphalos the navel.
[1713 Fabricii Bibliographia Antiquaria xii. 417: Omphalomantia, obstetricum ex infantum umbilicus.]
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329: [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Omphalomancy, by the naval. [citing Hone citing Gaule]
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Omphilomancy, [sic] by the navel.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 321: OMPHALOMANCY: Contemplation of one's own navel as a mystical procedure that promises divinatory results. Often recommended in connection with yoga exercises.
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: OMPHALOMANCY - predicting the number of children a woman will bear by counting the number of knots in the umbilical cord of the first born.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: omphalomancy.. Divination by means of the number of knots in the navel-string of a child - a fancied indication as to how many more children its mother will have. Dunglison.
1902 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: omphalomancy..Folk-lore. Divination from the number of knots in a new-born child's navel string to ascertain how many more children its mother will bear.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V:
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: omphalomancy .. Divination by means of a child's navel, to learn how many children the mother may have. [minor words list]
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: omphalomancy, by the navel.
1974 Mrs. Byrne's Dict.: omphalomancy..predicting the number of children a mother will bear by counting the knots in her first-born's umbilical cord.
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 211: omphalomancy a form of divination in which the number of knots in a newborn's umbilical cord.are counted to foretell the number of children the mother will have later.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict.
From the ancient Greek oneiros a dream. Cf oneiromantis foreboding from dreams, an interpreter of dreams.
Also spelled oneiromancie, oniromancy.
1652 Gaule The Magastromancer xix. 165: ..Oniromancy, by dreams...
1663 Spencer Prodigies in OED.
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329: [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Oneiromancy, by dreams. [citing Hone (citing Gaule)]
1868 Chambers's Encyc. III 599: ..Oneiromancy, (see Dreams)
1871 Tylor Primitive Culture (1891) i. iv. 121: Oneiromancy, thus symbolically interpreting the things seen in dreams, is not unknown to the lower races. A whole Australian tribe has been known to decamp because one of them dreamt of a certain kind of owl, which dream the wise men declared to forebode an attack from a certain other tribe.
1899 Cheyne & Black Encyclopædia Biblica i. 1117/2: The [divinatory] method of dreams (oneiromancy). [heading]
1911 Encyc. of Religion & Ethics (1967) iv. 819/1: The regular forms of divination among the Iranians were astrology, oneiromancy, cylicomancy, and rhabdomancy.
1953 Gaynor (ed.) Dict. Mysticism (1974) 130: Oniromancy: The study of dreams (oniroscopy) and their interpretation (onirocritics).
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Oniromancy, by dreams.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Oneiromancy - by dreams.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: ONEIROMANCY: The interpretation of dreams.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 321: ONEIROMANCY or ONIROMANCY: The interpretation of dreams to divine the future. A vast subject in itself, ranging from consulting the time-honored references found in various "dream dictionaries" to the modern symbolism endorsed by psychoanalysts. One special phase is that of "dreaming true," in which coming events unfold in the dreamer's mind with such exactitude that the dream can later be corroborated by an actual occurrence.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 52: Oneiromancy..is known everywhere in the world. No-one knows when it began, but records of prophetic dreams and their interpretations survive from the most ancient cultures. The oldest surviving book of dreams and their meanings was compiled by Artemidorus of Ephesus in the second century: it was translated into English in the seventeenth century, reprint 32 times before 1800, used by Freud in his researches, and still influences the dream dictionaries available today.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: ONCIROMANCY [sic] - dreams.
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii.: oneiromancy..Divination by dreams.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.: oneiromancy..Divination by dreams; the interpretation of dreams as presages of coming events. Spenser.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: oneiromancy.. Divination through dreams; the art of taking omens from dreams.
1902 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: oneiromancy..Folk-lore. Divination by means of dreams.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: oneiromancy [main words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.:
1932 Wyld Universal Dict.: Divination, prophecy, by interpretation of dreams.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: oneiromancy, dreams.
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict.: oneiromancy
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.): oneiromancy..divination through dreams.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: oneiromancy (dreams)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 211: oneiromancy a form of divination involving dreams. - oneiromancer, n.
1987 Random House Dict.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict.
Not 'divination by asses' as some have suggested due to Gk onos ass, see Smedley, Phillips & Chambers.
[1583 Weyer De praestigiis daemonum xiii.: onomanteia]
1605 Camden in OED.
1680 P.A. tr. Count of Gabalis iv. 134: Apollonius was not begot by a Man: He understood the language of Birds; he was seen in two divers parts of the World in one day: He vanished from before the Emperour Domitian, who would have punished him; He raised a Maid from the Dead, by vertue of Onomancy...
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular
Delusions 252: Onomancy, by names. [supposedly citing
Hone citing Gaule]
Ibid. 251: Onomancy, or the foretelling a
man's fate by the letters of his name, and the various transpositions of
which they are capable, is a more modern sort of divination; but it
reckons comparatively few believers.
1855 Henry Thompson in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 296: Among the Arabs the science of prognostication (Ilmi firáset) or art of discovering secret objects by the interpretation of mysterious indications, known only to adepts, is subdivided into twelve branches: 1. Physiognomy, (firásah;) 2. Phantasmognomy, (khaïlatwa-shamát;) 3. Chiromancy, (ásásír;) 4. Onomancy, (aktáf;)...
Edward Smedley in
Ibid. onomancy, It has been properly
said, more correctly signifies divination by a donkey, onos,
than by a name, onoma; and the latter science ought to be
termed Onomamancy, or Onomatomancy. The notion that an analogy
existed between men's names and their fortunes is supposed to have
originated with the Pythagoreans; it furnished some reveries to Plato,
and has been the source of much small wit in Ausonius, which it may
amuse the classical scholar to collate from his epigrams. Two leading
rules in the science of Onomancy were first, that an even number of
vowels in a man's name signifies something amiss in his left side; an
uneven number a similar affection on the right; so between the two,
perfect sanity was little to be expected. Secondly, of two competitors,
that one would prove successful the numeral letters in whose name
when summed up exceeded the amount of those in the name of his
rival; and this was one of the reasons that enabled Achilles to triumph
over Hector.
1880 J. Grant Mysteries of all Nations xlii. 383:
Onomancy, Onomamancy, or Onomatomancy, was the art of divining
the good or bad fortune of man from the letters of his name.
Ibid. 384. Some of the Bible worthies are referred to in support
of Onomancy; and a certain profane writer calls attention to tippling
Meroe, supposing she would drink her wine without water.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii. 458: onomancy, or onomamancy - Is the art of divining the good or bad fortune which will befall a man from the letters of his name. This mode of divination was a very popular and reputable practice among the ancients. The Pythagoreans taught that the minds, actions and successes of mankind were according to their late, genius and name; and Plato himself inclines somewhat to the same opinion. ... One of the principal rules of Onomancy, among the Pythagoreans, was, that an even number of vowels in a name signified an imperfection in the left side of a man, and an odd number in the right. Another rule, about as good as this, was, that those persons were the most happy in whose names the numeral letters, added together, made the greatest sum; for this reason, say they, it was that Achilles vanquished Hector, the numeral letters in the former name amounting to a greater number than the latter. And doubtless it was from a like principle that the young Romans toasted their mistresses at their meetings as often as their names contained letters. Rhodingius describes a singular kind of Onomantia. Theodotus, King of the Goths, being curious to learn the success of his wars against the Romans, an Onomantical Jew ordered him to shut up a number of swine in little stys, and to give some of them Roman, and others Gothic names, with different marks to distinguish them, and there to keep them till a certain day; which day having come, upon inspecting the stys they found those dead to which the Gothic names had been given, and those alive to which the Roman names were assigned; upon which the Jew foretold the defeat of the Goths. [copied in Daniels & Stevans 1903]
1903 Daniels & Stevans Encyc. Occult Sci. (1971) III 1662. [text copied from Howitt 1893]
1939 J. Trachtenberg Jewish Magic 217: A man's name, the matrix of his character and personality, was also useful in deciphering his fate (Onomancy). One method, employed to determine which of two competitors would triumph, was to calculate the numerical values of their names, and divide them by nine. If the two were of the same type, that is, both Jews, followed the same trade of profession, possessed the same degree of learning, etc., the one whose name after the operation left the larger balance, was the superior. If they were dissimilar in type, then the smaller balance denoted the successful one.
1967 Elsdon C. Smith Treasury of Name Lore 166: ONOMANCY OR ONOMATOMANCY [heading] This is the belief that a man's name could be used in deciphering his fate.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Onomancy - by the letters of a name.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: ONOMANCY: Answers the question of 'what's in a name' by giving meanings of names of persons and things. But it has comparatively little importance as a modern divinatory art.
1973 K. Ellis Prediction and Prophecy iii. 46:
Yet belief in onomancy..has persisted for thousands of years.
Ibid. 47. So there is some evidence at least that onomancy may
not be so fanciful as it sounds.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 321: ONOMANCY or ONOMATOMANCY: Use of names and the letters composing them to divine the future of persons, places, or things. Sometimes the naming of a person or place has been prophetic in itself, and from that has stemmed the practice of giving children impressive or significant names in hope that they will live up to them. Naming a child after a wealthy relative is a still better way of forecasting a prosperous future; one that may really pay off.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: ONOMANCY, NOMANCY - the letters forming a person's name.
1656 Blount Glossographia: Onomancie
(onomantia) divination by names; also the skill of repeating
many names by the art of memory. Cot.
The Pythagoreans judged the even number of vowels in names to
signify imperfections in the left sides of men, and the odd number, in
the right.
1658 Phillips New World of Eng. Words: Onomancy, (lat.) a divination by names, also a repeating of many names by the Art of memory.
1676 Coles An Eng. Dict.: Onomancy, g. divination by names, also the skill of repeating many names by memory.
1678 Phillips Barbarous Words in OED.
1755 Bailey An Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. (16th ed.): ONOMANCY [onomanteia, of onoma, a Name, and manteia, Divination, Gr.] Divination by Names.
1755 Johnson Dict. of the Eng. Lang. (1840): Onomancy. n.s. [onoma and mantis] Predicting by names. [citing Camden]
1852 Roget Thes. § 511: ..by the letters forming the name of a person, Onomancy, Nomancy...
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii.:
onomancy..Divination by the letters of a name.
Destinies were superstitiously, by onomancy, deciphered out of names.
Camden.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.:
onomancy..Divination by the letters of a name; nomancy.
Camden.
Ibid. onomomancy.. Onomancy.
Brande.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: onomancy.. Same as onomatomancy.
1902 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: onomancy..Folk-lore. Divination by the use of names or of the letters of names. onomantia, onomatomancy, onomomancy. [all marked obsolete]
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V - also onomo-
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: onomancy/onomantia/onomatomancy/onomomancy [minor words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.:
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: onomancy, onomatechny, the letters of one's name.
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict.: onomancy
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: onomancy (personal names)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
211: onomancy, onomomancy a form of divination involving
the letters of a name. Cf. nomancy.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden
Knowledge 468: ONOMANTICS: A development of Onomancy
and is applied to personal names. Some of these names are obvious in
meaning, as Hope, or Victor. Other names are easily translatable, as
Sophia for wisdom, or Leo for lion-hearted. Others have been extended
or elaborated, but their basic meanings may be found in many
dictionaries or standard reference works.]
From medieval Latin onomatomantia.
1652 Gaule The Magastromancer xix. 165: ..Onomatomancy, by names...
a1660 (1693) Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv. 134: By Onomatomancy: How do they call thee! Chaw-turd, (quoth Panurge)...
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329: [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1855, 1880 - see onomancy.
1897 Urquhart tr. Rabelais Works of Rabelais iii. xxv. 163: By onomatomancy.
1951 Works of Rabelais III. xxv. 361: By onomatomancy. How do they call thee? Chaw-turd, quoth Panurge.
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Onomatomancy, by names.
1967 Elsdon C. Smith Treasury of Name Lore 166: ONOMANCY OR ONOMATOMANCY [heading] This is the belief that a man's name could be used in deciphering his fate.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 321: [see onomancy]
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: onomatomancy.. Divination by names. J. Gaule (1652) quoted in Hall's Modern English, p. 37, note. Also onomomancy, onomancy.
1903 OED.
1908 See onomancy.
1910 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) supp.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: onomatomancy [minor words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict. s.v.
onomancy [marked obsolete]
Pre-dating OED.
See also: onimancy, onymancy onyomancy.
1621 P. Camerarius tr. Molle Walking Library 2: In our time Coniurers use christall, calling the diuination chrystallomantia, or Onychomantia, in the which, after they have rubbed one of the nayles of their fingers, or a piece of Chrystall, they utter I know not what words, and they call a boy that is pure and no way corrupted, to see therein that which they require...
1652 Gaule The Magastromancer xix. 165: ..Onychomancy, by the nayles...
[1713 Fabricii Bibliographia Antiquaria xii. 417: Onychomantia, ex unguibus.]
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329:
[citing Gaule]
Ibid. 169: [citing Molle erroneously:
'oncyomantia']
1844 Brand Popular Antiquities iii. 350: There was anciently a species of divination called onychomancy, or onymancy, performed by nails of an unpolluted boy. Vestiges of this are still retained. Sir Thomas Browne..admits that conjectures of prevalent humours may be collected from the spots in our nails, but rejects the sundry divinations vulgarly raised upon them: such as that spots on the top of the nails signify things past, in the middle things present, and, at the bottom, events to come. That white specks presage our felicity, blue ones our misfortunes; that those in tha nail of the thumb have significations of honour; of the fore-finger, riches.
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Onchyomancy, [sic] by the nails. [citing Hone citing Gaule]
1855 Edward Smedley in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 324: oncyomancy. See next.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii. 459:
1903 Daniels & Stevans Encyc. Occult Sci. (1971) III 1663: onychomancy - Was performed by the finger-nails of an unpolluted boy. These were covered with soot and oil, and when turned to the sun they reflected the desired image. Also each spot on the nails had a meaning that may be given to them as they come or go.
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 307/2: Onychomancy: Divination by the finger-nails. It is practised by watching the reflection of the sun in the nails of a boy, and judging the future by the shape of the figures which show themselves on their surface.
1931 Lock tr. de Givry Picture Museum of Sorcery (1963) viii. 304: Belomancy, dear to soldiers of former time, was divination by arrows, onychomancy by means of nails reflecting the sun's rays...
1951 Works of Rabelais III. xxv. 361: By onychomancy, for that we have oil and wax.
1953 Gaynor (ed.) Dict. Mysticism (1974) 131: Onychomancy: Divination by observing nails exposed to the sunlight.
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Onychomancy, by the nails.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Onychomancy - by the finger-nails.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: ONYCHOMANCY: A study of the fingernails in the sunlight, looking for any significant symbols that can be traced. ONYOMANCY is similar and somewhat more practical, being an interpretation of personal characteristics from the nails as a minor phase of Palmistry.
1973 K. Ellis Prediction and Prophecy iii. 41: Onychomancy. Divination by reflections from the oiled finger-nails of "an unpolluted boy or a young virgin."
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 322: ONYCHOMANCY: Divination by studying the reflection of bright sunlight upon a person's fingernails and noting any symbols real or imaginary - that may appear there. These are interpreted in accordance with established rules, as with crystal gazing or teacup reading.
1973 L. Watson Supernature ix. 300: Precoginition means "knowing in advance," and systems of knowing cover just about every possible source of variation. They include..onychomancy (the patterns of fingernails in sunlight)... None of these need be taken seriously...
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: ONIMANCY, ONYCHOMANCY - fingernails reflecting the rays of the sun.
1740 Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict.: onychomancy (s.) a sort of trifling divination, which some old superstitious creatures made or observed by covering the nails of an unpolluted boy with oil and soot mixed together, and then turning them to the sun, they pretended the rays thereof made the representation of divers figures, which were the hieroglyphicks of what they enquired after.
1852 Roget Thes. § 511: ..by nails reflecting the sun's rays, Onychomancy...
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii.: onycomancy..A kind of divination by means of the nails of the fingers.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.: onychomancy..Divination by the nails. Wright.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: onychomancy.. A kind of divination by means of the finger-nails. Bourne's Pop. Antiq. (1777), p. 96.
1903 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: onychomancy..Divination by means of the finger-nails. onymancy.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: onychomancy [minor words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: onychomancy, nails reflecting the sun.
1974 Mrs. Byrne's Dict.: onimancy..fortunetelling with fingernails; onychomancy.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: onychomancy (reflected sun rays), onyomancy (fingernails)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 211: onychomancy a form of divination involving examination of the fingernails.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict.
Pictorius Vigillanus: Onimantici enim fuligine et oleo pollicis unguem vel manus volam, seu palmam in puero tenello, tacito susurramine verborum accedente illinunt, ut hinc spectra videant, aut imagines pro sua re convenientes, quas puer denuo prodat.
a1660 (1693) Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv. 134: By Onymancy, for that we have Oil and Wax.
1844 Brand Popular Antiquities iii. 350: onymancy. See prec.
1855 Edward Smedley in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 324: onimancy (onycomancy), Or the observation of the Angel Uriel, is thus performed. Upon the nails of the right hand of an unpolluted boy or a young virgin, or the palm of the hand, is put some oil of olives, or what is better, oil of walnuts mingled with tallow or blacking. If money or things hidden in the earth be sought, the face of the child must be turned towards the east. If crime be inquired into, or the knowledge of a person out of affection, towards the south; for robbery towards the west, and for murder towards the south. Then the child must repeat the seventy-two verses of the Psalms, which the Hebrew cabalists collected for the Urim and Thummin. These will be found in the third book of Reuclin on the cabalistical art, and in the treatise de verbo mirifico. In each of these verses occurs the venerable name of four letters, and the three-lettered name of the seventy-two angels, which are referred to the inquisitive name Schemhammaphoras, which was hidden in the folds of the lining of the tippet of the high priest. When the curious student has done thus much, Saunders assures him that he "shall see wonders," but he omits to specify what these wonders are. Chiromancers give the name Onycomancy, likewise, to the inspection of the natural signs in the nails.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii. 459:
1897 Urquhart tr. Rabelais Works of Rabelais iii. xxv. 162: By onymancy, for that we have oil and wax.
1904 Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv. 154: By onymancy...
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 307/1: [copying Smedley, but...] Chiromancers give the name Onyomancy to the inspection of the natural signs in the nails.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: ONYCHOMANCY: A study of the fingernails in the sunlight, looking for any significant symbols that can be traced. ONYOMANCY is similar and somewhat more practical, being an interpretation of personal characteristics from the nails as a minor phase of Palmistry.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 322: ONYOMANCY: A specialized phase of onychomancy whereby a person's future is gauged by the appearance of the fingernails themselves. This has become a part of cheiromancy and is detailed under that head.
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult Onimancy
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: ONIMANCY, ONYCHOMANCY - fingernails reflecting the rays of the sun.
1656 Blount Glossographia: Onymaucy, [sic] divination by oyl and wax.
1903 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: onimancy..Folk-lore. Divination by inspection of the nails.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: onycomancy/onymancy [minor words list]
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.):
onyomancy..an interpretation of personal characteristics from
the study of the fingernails.
Commonly in the New Latin form oomantia.
Cf. ooscopy.
[1713 Fabricii Bibliographia Antiquaria xii. 418: Oomantia, s[ive] divinatio ex ovis.]
[1727 Bailey The Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. i: OOSCOPY ['Ooscopia, Gr.] Predicitons made from Eggs.]
1855 Elihu Rich in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 333: ooscopy and oomantia. Two methods of divination by eggs. ..The latter name denotes a method of divining the signs or characters appearing in eggs. The custom of pasche or paste eggs, which are stained with various colours, and given at Easter, is well known...
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 307/2: [copying Rich]
1953 Gaynor (ed.) Dict. Mysticism (1974) 131: Oomancy; ooscopy: Divination by eggs.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: OOMANTIA or OOSCOPY: These are terms applied to Ancient methods of divination by eggs.
1973 K. Ellis Prediction and Prophecy iii. 42: In Oomancy, a pregnant woman wishing to foretell the sex of her unborn child incubated a hen's egg between her breasts. If the chick was male, she would have a boy baby; if female, a girl.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 322: OOMANCY or OVOMANCY: Methods of divination utilizing eggs, some dating back to antiquity. One modern survival consists of dropping whites of eggs in water and noting the shapes or markings thus obtained. The custom of coloring eggs, so popular today, also stems from ancient traditions.
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict. oömancy/oömantia [minor words list]
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict.: oomancy also oomantia..divination by means of eggs.
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
211: oomancy a form of divination involving eggs.
1753 Chambers Suppl. in OED.
1855 Henry Thompson in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 293: The general term [Hebrew characters] which the LXX render by the verb oionizo, and the Vulgate by auguror, probably refers to a mode of divining by serpents, the ophiomancy of the Greeks...
1863 William Smith Dict. of the Bible i. 444/2: ..because ophiomancy was common...
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Ophiomancy - from the behaviour of snakes.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: OPHIOMANCY: This covers divination from serpents.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 322: OPHIOMANCY: Recognition of serpents as agents in divination. Dating from the Garden of Eden, this was found in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and among the Aztecs of Mexico.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 143: Ophiomancy Predicting from the colour and movement of snakes.
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: OPHIOMANCY - snakes.
1852 Roget Thes. § 511: ..by fishes [sic], Ophiomancy...
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii.: ophiomancy..In antiquity, the art of divining or predicting events by serpents, as by their manner of eating or by their coils.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.: ophiomancy..Divination by means of serpents. Brande.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: ophiomancy.. The art of divining or predicting events by serpents, as by their manner of coiling themselves or of eating.
1903 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: ophiomancy..Divination by means of serpents.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: ophiomancy [main words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.
1932 Wyld Universal Dict.: Divination by observation of movements &c. of serpents.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: ophiomancy, serpents.
1974 Mrs. Byrne's Dict.: ophiomancy..fortunetelling with snakes.
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.): ophiomancy..divination from serpents.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: ophiomancy (fish) [sic]
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
211: ophiomancy a form of divination involving snakes.
From the ancient Greek ophthalmos an eye.
[1740 Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict.:
ophthalmoscopy (s.) that part of Physiognomy that pretends
to tell the humour or disposition of a person by his eyes.]
1727-41 Chambers in OED.
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329: [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/1: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1840 DeQuincey Mod. Superst. in OED.
1853 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Ornithomancy, by birds. [citing Hone citing Gaule]
1855 Elihu Rich in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 333: ornithomancy Is the Greek word for augury, the method of divination by the flight or the song of birds, which, with the Romans, became a part of their national religion, and had a distinct priesthood.
1880 J. Grant Mysteries of all Nations xlii. 380: Ornithomancy was a popular way of searching into futurity.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii. 459:
ornithomancy - Is a kind of divination, or method of arriving at the
knowledge of futurity, by means of birds, it was among the Greeks
what Augury was among the Romans.
Ibid. 455: In the second
sense, Cledonism should seem a divination drawn from birds, - the
same with Ornithomantia. [copied in Daniels & Stevans 1903]
1903 Daniels & Stevans Encyc. Occult Sci. (1971) III 1662. [text copied from Howitt 1893]
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Ornithomancy, by birds.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Ornithomancy - by the flight of birds.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: ORNOSCOPY AND ORNITHOMANCY: These are concerned with omens gained by watching the flight of different birds.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 322: ORNITHOMANCY: Pertaining strictly to birds, this form of divination depended on their flight, songs, and feeding habits. It was practiced extensively in ancient Rome, one theory being that the birds, being high in the heavens, might be aware of the intentions of the gods who dwelled there, and even act as their messengers. The fact that changes in weather and seasons could also be foretold by watching birds caused them to be credited with divinatory powers of their own.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 142: Omens could be read [by augurs] in almost anything from a sneeze to a shooting star, but the most common method was ornithomancy - predicting from the sound, appearance, and flight of birds.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1993 McCormack Q&A 71: ORNITHOMANCY, ORNISCOPY - birds.
1727 Bailey The Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. i.: ORNITHOMANCY [onithomanteia, Gr.] a Divination by Birds.
1740 Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict.: ornithomancy (s.)...
1755 Bailey An Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. (16th ed.) ORNITHOMANCY [ornithomantia, L., of ornithomanteia, of ornis, a Bird, and manteia, Prediction, Gr.] a Divination by the Flight of Birds.
1852 Roget Thes. § 511: ..by birds, Orniscopy, Ornithomancy...
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. ii.: ornithomancy..Augury, a species of divination by means of fowls, their flight, &c.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.: ornithomancy..Divination by the flight of birds. Brande.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1899 Century Dict. (1903) V: ornithomancy.. Divination by means of birds; ornithoscopy; augury. De Quincey, Modern Superstition.
1903 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: orithomancy..Folk-lore Divination by the flight or song of birds; augury.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: ornithomancy [main words list]; ornithomantia [minor words list]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict.
1932 Wyld Universal Dict.: Divination by observation of the flight of birds.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: ornithomancy, the flight of birds.
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict.: ornithomancy
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.): ornithomancy..divination by means of studying the flight of birds.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6: ornithomancy (birds)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 212: ornithomancy, ornithoscopy a form of divination involving the observation of birds, especially in flight.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict.
The OED date the Lydgate citation as 1420, but this has latterly been revised by the scholars of the MED as more recent.
c1500 (?a1475) John Lydgate
Assembly of the Gods ll. 862--70:
These folowyd Konnyng & thedyr with hym came,
With many ooñ moo offryng her seruyce
To Vertew at hat nede; but natwithstandyng than
Some he refusyd and seyde in nowyse
They shuld with hym go, and, as I coude auyse,
These were her names: fyrst, Nygromansy,
Geomansy, Magyk, and Glotony,
Adryomancy, Ornomancy, with Pyromancy,
Fysenamy also, and Pawmestry,
And all her sequelys, yef I shult nat ly.
1595 Polimanteia: But I intend not to entreat particularlie of many other kindes of Diuinations, as Orneomantie, Hieroscopie, Hidromantie, and many like kindes, because these properly cannot serue to iudge of the change, or ruine of Common wealths, contenting my selfe to note out those which concerne the subiect of this particular matter.
[1632 Cotgrave Dictionarie of French & Eng. Tongues: Orneomantie: f. Diuination by the mouing of birds.]
1656 Blount Glossographia: Ornomancy (Gr.) divination by the moving of birds. Cot.
1658 Phillips New World of Eng. Words: Ornomancy, (Greek) a kinde of Divination by Birds.
1676 Coles An Eng. Dict.: Ornomancy, g. Divination by birds.
1903 OED. [citing Lydgate and Blount]
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: ornomancy [minor
words list; labelled obsolete]
From the ancient Greek oryktos dug up.
Not in OED.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16:
oryctomancy, things dug up.
From Latin ossa a bone.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16: ossomancy, bones.
1831 Burton Soup 129 (OED): Works on..ostiomancy, Palmistry, oneiromancy and divination.
1892 New Sydenham Society's Lexicon IV:
1903 OED.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. ii.: osteomanty..The art of divining with bones.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) V - osteomanty
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: osteomancy/osteomanty [minor words list]
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
212: osteomancy, osteomanty divination by the examination
of bones. --osteomantic, adj.
1931 Lock tr. de Givry Picture Museum of Sorcery (1963) viii. 304: Ovomancy was an operation in which the germ of an egg played the part of divining agent...
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 468: OVOMANCY: Another form of egg divination.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. &
Prophecy (1989) 322: OOMANCY or OVOMANCY: Methods of
divination utilizing eggs, some dating back to antiquity. One modern
survival consists of dropping whites of eggs in water and noting the
shapes or markings thus obtained. The custom of coloring eggs, so
popular today, also stems from ancient traditions.