coscinomancy
English
Alternative forms
Most of these are erroneous and are not in use:
- choschinomancy
- choschinomancie
- coskinomancy
- koskinomancy
- cosinomancy
- coskiomancy
- cosnomancy
- coskniomancy
- coseinomancy
Etymology
Ancient Greek koskinomantis, "a diviner using a sieve", from koskinon, "a sieve".
Noun
coscinomancy (uncountable)
- Divination by the use of a suspended sieve sometimes from tongs or shears. The movement of the sieve when a person's name or word is spoken is interpreted.
- 1603 Christopher Heydon A Defence of Ivdiciall Astrolgie
- And as for Hydromancie, and Choschinomancie, they could vanish as superfluous, as were evident and ridiculous even to the ignorant.
- 1660 Urquhart tr. Rabelais Gargantua & Pantagruel iii. xxv.
- By Coscinomancy, most religiously observed of old, amidst the Ceremonies of the ancient Romans. Let us have a Sieve and Shiers, and thou shalt see Devils.
- 1913 Halliday Greek Div. x.
- To the same species of divinatory rites [i.e. those involving a swinging pendulum] belong the koskinomancy of Theokritos, familiar in England as the consultation of the sieve and shears, and the minor rites of axinomancy and sphondylomancy.
- 1603 Christopher Heydon A Defence of Ivdiciall Astrolgie
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