ichthyomancy

English

Etymology

ichthyo- +‎ -mancy

Alternative forms

Noun

ichthyomancy (uncountable)

  1. Divination interpreting the appearance and behaviour of fish. A form of augury.
  2. Divination interpreting the entrails of fish. A form of aruspicy.

Quotations
  • 1610 Vives in J. Healey Saint Augustine of the Citie of God
    Diuination generally was done by diuers means..by fishes, Ichthyomancy (this Apuleius was charged with)...
  • 1660 Urquhart translating Rabelais Gargantua &ast Pantagruel iii. xxv.
    By Icthiomancy, in ancient times so celebrated, and put in use by Tiresias and Polydamus, with the like certainty of event as was tried of old at the Dina-ditch within that Grove consecrated to Apollo, which is in the Territory of the Lycians.
  • 1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult
    Ichthyomancy: Divination by the inspection of the entrails of fish.
  • 1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. &ast Prophecy
    ICHTHYOMANCY: Divination by the examination of fish offered for a sacrifice. This can be extended to include the actions of living fish, which have many traditional interpretations, some still popular with present-day fishermen.
  • 1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
    Ichthyomancy - The next fish caught.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.