metopomancy

English

Etymology

From French métopomantie (from Ancient Greek μέτωπον (métōpon, forehead)), later reformed after + -mancy.

Pronunciation

Noun

metopomancy (uncountable)

  1. (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 (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

References

  • "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."
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