cleidomancy
cleidomancy noun: divination by using a hanging key as a pendulum. A form of radiesthesia.
Noun
cleidomancy (uncountable)
- Divination by using a hanging key as a pendulum. A form of radiesthesia.
- Cleidomancy was performed with a key suspended from a thread from the nail of a young virgin's third finger, this verse from the Psalms being repeated meanwhile: "Exurge, Domine, adjuva nos, et redime nos propter nomen sanctum tuum." The key would revolve if the thing asked could be affirmed.1931, J. Courtenay Locke, translator, Émile-Jules Grillot de Givry, author, Picture Museum of Sorcery, Magic & Alchemy
Forms of cleidomancy
| alternative form | clidomancy |
|---|---|
| alternative form | chilomancy |
| alternative form | kleidomancy |
Origin of cleidomancy
From cleido- + -mancy.
Questions about cleidomancy
- What does cleidomancy mean?
- Cleidomancy means divination by using a hanging key as a pendulum. A form of radiesthesia.
- What part of speech is cleidomancy?
- Cleidomancy is a noun.
Words near cleidomancy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cleidomancy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “cleidomancy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cleidomancy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.