palmistry
/ˈpɑ(l)məstɹi/noun
palmistry is spelled P-A-L-M-I-S-T-R-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 119,826th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, palmistry means “Telling fortunes from the lines on the palms of the hand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of palmistry is palmistries.
How many letters and syllables are in palmistry?
| Letters | 9: P-A-L-M-I-S-T-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 119,826th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is palmistry?
Palmistry appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 119,826th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce palmistry?
- UK /ˈpɑːmɪstɹi/
- UK /ˈpɑːməstɹi/
- US /ˈpɑ(l)məstɹi/
Palmistry has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-palmistry.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of palmistry
- palmistries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does palmistry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Telling fortunes from the lines on the palms of the hand.
- 2
A book on palmistry; a system of palmistry.
- 3
obsoleterareA dexterous use or trick of the hand.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Palmistry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense telling fortunes from the lines on the palms of the hand:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chiromancie |
| German | Chiromantie, Handlesekunst, Handlesen |
| Portuguese | quiromancia |
| Spanish | quiromancia, quiromancía, quirología |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does palmistry come from?
From Middle English palmestrie. Equivalent to palm + -ist + -ry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).