palm

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
2. n. The similar part of the forefoot of a quadruped.
3. n. A unit of length equal to either the width or the length of the hand.
4. n. The part of a glove or mitten that covers the palm of the hand.
5. n. Nautical A metal shield worn by sailmakers over the palm of the hand and used to force a needle through heavy canvas.
6. n. Nautical The blade of an oar or paddle.
7. n. The flattened part of the antlers of certain animals, such as the moose.
8. v. To hold in the palm of the hand.
9. v. To touch or stroke with the palm of the hand.
10. v. To conceal in the palm of the hand, as in cheating at dice or cards or in a sleight-of-hand trick.
11. v. To pick up furtively.
12. v. Basketball To commit a violation by letting (the ball) rest momentarily in the palm of the hand while dribbling.
13. palm off To dispose of or pass off by deception.
14. idiom. an itchy palm A strong desire for money, especially bribes.
15. n. Any of various chiefly tropical evergreen trees, shrubs, or woody vines of the family Palmae (or Arecaceae), characteristically having unbranched trunks with a crown of large pinnate or palmate leaves having conspicuous parallel venation.
16. n. A leaf of a palm tree, carried as an emblem of victory, success, or joy.
17. n. Triumph; victory.
18. n. A small metallic representation of a palm leaf added to a military decoration that has been awarded more than one time.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The flat of the hand; that part of the hand which extends from the wrist to the bases of the thumb and fingers on the side opposite the knuckles; more generally and technically, the palmar surface of the manus of any animal, as the sole of the fore foot of a clawed quadruped, as the cat or mouse, corresponding to the planta of the pes or foot. In man the palm is fleshy, and presents two special eminences, the thenar (ball of the thumb) and, opposite to it, the hypothenar, mainly due to the bulk of the subjacent muscles. The habitual tendency of the fingers in grasping and holding throws the skin into numerous creases, several principal ones being quite constant in position. The character of these creases, in all their detail and variation in different individuals, is the chief basis of chirognomy or palmistry. See phrases under line.
2. n. The hand; a hand.
3. n. A lineal measure equal either to the breadth of the hand or to its length from the wrist to the tips of the fingers; a measure of length equal to 3 and in some instances 4 inches; among the Romans, a lineal measure equal to about 8½ inches, corresponding to the length of the hand.
4. n. A part that covers the inner portion of the hand: as, the palm of a glove; specifically, an instrument used by sailmakers and seamen in sewing canvas, instead of a thimble, consisting of a piece of leather that goes round the hand, with a piece of iron sewed on it so as to rest in the palm.
5. n. The broad (usually triangular) part of an anchor at the end of the arms.
6. n. The flat or palmate part of a deer's horns when full-grown.
7. n. An old game, a kind of hand-tennis, more fully called palm-play.
8. n. A ball.
9. To handle; manipulate.
10. To conceal in the palm of the hand, in the manner of jugglers or cheaters.
11. To impose by fraud: generally followed by upon before the person and off before the thing: as, to palm off trash upon the public.
12. n. A tree or shrub of the order Palmæ. The palms form a natural plant-group of great interest, in appearance highly picturesque and often elegant, and in usefulness surpassed by no family except the grasses. The pulpy fruit of some species, most notably of the date, and the seed-kernel of others, preëminently the cocoanut, are edible. Oil is yielded by the fruit-pulp of some (oil-palm) and by the seeds of others (cocoanut, bacaba, etc.). The pith of the sago-palms is farinaceous, and the large terminal bud of the cabbage-palm serves as vegetable, as do the young seedlings of the palmyra. The sap of the wild date-tree and other species yields palm-sugar or jaggery; that of the coquito, palm-honey. The juice of various species becomes toddy or palm-wine, which in fermenting serves as yeast, and distilled affords a spirituous liquor. Aside from food and drink, the betel-nut, a kind of catechu, and a kind of dragon's-blood are palm-products; a candle-wax exudes from Ceroxylon; vegetable ivory is the nut of the ivory-palm. Palm-wood is useful for building (date-palm, palmyra, etc.), for fine work (porcupine-wood), for piles (palmetto), and for flexible articles (ratan). The leaves of many species serve for thatching (bussu-palm, royal palmetto, palmyra, etc.), for making hats, baskets, and fans, and in place of paper (palmetto, talipot, etc.). The leafstalks of some (kittul, piassava) furnish an important fiber, as also does the husk of the cocoanut. There are many other uses. The cocoanut-, date-, and palmyra-palms lead in importance. The palm of the Bible is the date-palm. (For symbolic use, see def. 2.) As ornamental plants in temperate regions the palms are indispensable where sufficient hothouse room can be had.
13. n. A branch, properly a leaf, of the palm-tree, anciently borne or worn as a symbol of victory or triumph; hence, superiority; victory; triumph; honor; prize. The palm was adopted as an emblem of victory, it is said, because the tree is so elastic as, when pressed, to rise and recover its correct position. The Jews carried palm-branches on festal occasions, and the Roman Catholic and Greek churches have preserved this usage in celebrating the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. See Palm Sunday. See also def. 3.
14. n. One of several other plants, popularly so called as resembling in some way the palm, or, especially, as substituted for it in church usage. Among plants so designated are, in Great Britain, chiefly the great sallow or goat-willow. Salix Caprea, at the time when its catkins are out, and the common yew (the latter is universally so called in Ireland); in Europe also the olive, holly, box, and another willow; and in the northern United States the hemlock-spruce.
15. n. See Macrozamia.
16. n. A flat end formed on a tie-rod or strut, through which the rivets or bolts are passed to secure the piece to the rest of the structure.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of various evergreen trees from the family Palmae or Arecaceae, which are mainly found in the tropics.
2. n. The inner and somewhat concave part of the human hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.
3. n. The corresponding part of the forefoot of a lower mammal.
4. n. A handheld computing device used to store personal data such as calendars and phone numbers.
5. v. To hold or conceal something in the palm of the hand, e.g, for an act of sleight of hand or to steal something.
6. v. To hold something without bending the fingers significantly.
7. v. To move something with the palm of the hand.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Anat.) The inner and somewhat concave part of the hand between the bases of the fingers and the wrist.
2. n. A lineal measure equal either to the breadth of the hand or to its length from the wrist to the ends of the fingers; a hand; -- used in measuring a horse's height.
3. n. (Sailmaking) A metallic disk, attached to a strap, and worn on the palm of the hand, -- used to push the needle through the canvas, in sewing sails, etc.
4. n. (Zoöl.) The broad flattened part of an antler, as of a full-grown fallow deer; -- so called as resembling the palm of the hand with its protruding fingers.
5. n. (Naut.) The flat inner face of an anchor fluke.
6. n. (Bot.) Any endogenous tree of the order Palmæ or Palmaceæ; a palm tree.
7. n. A branch or leaf of the palm, anciently borne or worn as a symbol of victory or rejoicing.
8. n. Any symbol or token of superiority, success, or triumph; also, victory; triumph; supremacy.
9. v. obsolete To handle.
10. v. To manipulate with, or conceal in, the palm of the hand; to juggle.
11. v. To take (something small) stealthily, especially by concealing it in the palm of the hand.
12. v. To impose by fraud, as by sleight of hand; to put by unfair means; -- usually with on or upon. See also palm off.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a linear unit based on the length or width of the human hand
2. n. an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event
3. n. any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leaves
4. n. the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
5. v. touch, lift, or hold with the hands