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  1. alectryomancy love

Definitions

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. An ancient practice of foretelling events by means of a cock. The letters of the alphabet were traced on the ground in squares within a circle, and a grain of corn was placed on each; a cock was then permitted to pick up the grains, and the letters under them, being formed into words in the order of their selection by the cock, were supposed to foretell the event. Sometimes written alectoromancy.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A form of divination in which the diviner observes a bird, several birds (or most preferably the white rooster or cockerel) pecking at grain that the diviner has scattered on the ground.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Divination by means of a cock and grains of corn placed on the letters of the alphabet, the letters being put together in the order in which the grains were eaten.

Etymologies

  1. From Ancient Greek ἀλεκτρυών, ἀλέκτωρ (alektōr, "a rooster") +‎ -mancy. (Wiktionary)

Examples

  • “Other sets of synonyms include, in addition to the aforementioned haruspicy and haruspication: caloptromancy and enoptromancy; spodomancy and tephramancy (or tephromancy); alectryomancy and alectoromancy; astromancy and sideromancy; crystallomancy and gastromancy; hieromancy and hieroscopy; necromancy and sciomancy; ornithomancy and orniscopy; and scapulimancy and omoplatoscopy.”

    Verbatim: VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VI No 2

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  1. alectoromancy

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  1. mancy
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  • fbharjo a cock and bull story? Sep 11, 2012

  • tricon Magic using corn. Nov 4, 2008

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‘alectryomancy’ has been looked up 1648 times, loved by 4 people, added to 18 lists, commented on 2 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.