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divination

UK/ˌdɪvɪˈneɪʃən/US/ˌdɪvɪˈneɪʃən/
nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,891 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: divinations

Divination is trying to foretell what is hidden or to come. Practise divination.

Every culture has had a method, from birds and entrails to cards and tea leaves. Divination works on the reader rather than the future, since a vague answer fits anything.

Amcaja · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of divination

  1. 1noundivinationTrying to foretell what is hidden or to come.C2

    “The whole chapter is about divination in the ancient world.”

divination is a practice.

Where it comes from

Latin divinatio comes from divinare, to foresee, from divus, a god.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *dyew-

  2. Latin

    divinatio

  3. Old French

    divination

  4. English, today

    divination

From Old French divination, from Latin divinatio.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

divination in the wild

  • In divination one finds the cause of an ailment or a potential danger, in magic one subsequently acts upon this knowledge.

    Divination

  • The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination.

    Fortune-telling

  • Geomancy was a common, and cross cultural, forms of divination in premodern times.

    Geomancy

  • Cowrie-shell divination refers to several distinct forms of divination using cowrie shells that are part of the rituals and religious beliefs of certain religions.

    Cowrie-shell divination

  • Methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names.

    Methods of divination

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.