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Glite Dictionary
rhabdomancy

rhabdomancy

9.9
A way of searching for underground water or minerals with a forked stick
  • noun
  • /ˈræbdoʊˌmænsɪ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : rabdomancia
  • The old farmer practiced rhabdomancy with a forked stick in search of water.

Examples

  • Some people still believe in rhabdomancy to locate underground springs.

  • Skeptics dismiss rhabdomancy as a pseudoscience lacking empirical support.

  • Many people believe in rhabdomancy to find water.

  • He practices rhabdomancy in his free time.

  • The old farmer practiced rhabdomancy with a forked stick to find water for his crops.

  • Some people still use rhabdomancy to search for underground minerals in their fields.

  • Many gardeners have tried rhabdomancy to locate hidden water sources for irrigation.

Synonyms

dowsing
vsrhabdomancy
3 9.9

To search under the ground for water or minerals using a forked stick

is limited to finding only underground water and minerals with a rod
radiesthesia
vsrhabdomancy
9.9

A way of using a pendulum to try to find underground water or minerals

is restricted to searching for underground water and minerals, not energies

Surface Forms

rhabdomancy singular
rhabdomancies plural

Morphology

rhabdomancy = rhabdo + mancy

The components 'rhabdo' and 'mancy' are not productive English morphemes, making the meaning inaccessible to learners without specialized knowledge.

Etymology

The word rhabdomancy comes from the Greek rhabdos meaning 'rod' and the ending -mancy meaning 'fortune telling'. So rhabdomancy is like 'telling with a rod', which explains why it means using a forked stick to find water or minerals under the ground.