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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

apantomancy en · NOUN

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀπαντάω (apantáō, “to encounter”) and μαντεία (manteía, “prophecy”).

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) Divination by chance meetings with any objects that present themselves, most commonly animals; for example, the superstition associated with a black cat crossing one's path.
    • Apantomancy: Divination by means of any objects which happen to present themselves. To this class belong the omens drawn from chance meetings with a hare, an eagle, etc. 1920, Lewis Spence, An Encyclopædia of Occultism:
    • Even objects that lie about haphazardly were fit for mantic purposes. The prcatice was called apantomancy. 1961, H.E. Wedeck, Treasury of Witchcraft: