Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A kind of divination said to have been practised by walking round in a circle or ring until the performer fell from dizziness, the manner of his fall being interpreted with reference to characters or signs previously placed about the ring, or in some such way.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A kind of divination performed by drawing a ring or circle, and walking in or around it.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Divination where people walk on a circle of letters untildizzy , the letters they fall on are significant. Similar toDervishing . - noun
Divination by whirling a coin on a circle of letters.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
gyro- + -mancy, from Ancient Greek gyros, a ring/circle/spiral.
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Examples
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whichbe commented on the word gyromancy
Fortunetelling by walking in a circle until dizzy; the fortune is determined by where the person falls.
May 16, 2008
reesetee commented on the word gyromancy
Hahaha! This will be great for my next party.
May 16, 2008
yarb commented on the word gyromancy
It's not a real party until the gyromancy gets going.
May 16, 2008
dontcry commented on the word gyromancy
To me, it sounds like a literary genre that is described as romantic/fantasy tale about love in Greece.
The flipside of this genre would be called falafelmancy.
May 16, 2008
yarb commented on the word gyromancy
Kudos!
May 16, 2008
bilby commented on the word gyromancy
Reminds a bit of cowpat bingo. But, ehrm, seriously, I think the Etruscans practiced a form of gyromancy with a game called cotabos. As it was explained to me at an archaeological museum in Italy, it involved walking around while spinning a plate balanced on a pole. Eventually the plate/walker would fall, and amid the mirth there was perceived to be a message in the location and manner of the fall. But a lot of what is 'known' about the Etruscans is conjecture and that applies to cotabos too.
May 16, 2008