Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The practice of supposedly communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future.
- noun Black magic; sorcery.
- noun Magic qualities.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Divination by calling up the spirits of the dead and conversing with them; the pretended summoning of apparitions of the dead in order that they may answer questions.
- noun The art of magic in general; enchantment; conjuration; the black art.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The art of revealing future events by means of a pretended communication with the dead; the black art; hence, magic in general; conjuration; enchantment. See
black art .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Divination involving thedead ordeath . - noun Loosely, any sorcery or witchcraft, especially involving
death or the dead, particularly sorcery involvingraising orreanimating the dead.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world
- noun conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In fact, little by little the term necromancy lost its strict meaning and was applied to all forms of black art, becoming closely associated with alchemy, witchcraft, and magic.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 10: Mass Music-Newman 1840-1916 1913
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The Bible certainly does address the issue of dealing with evil spirits in that it explicitly forbids engaging in pagan worship, conjuring up the dead or spirit-guides (what we call necromancy--things like ouija boards and mediums and seances), and anything that might be called magic (trying to manipulate the material world by spiritual means).
Archive 2006-10-01 Fr Timothy Matkin 2006
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The Bible certainly does address the issue of dealing with evil spirits in that it explicitly forbids engaging in pagan worship, conjuring up the dead or spirit-guides (what we call necromancy--things like ouija boards and mediums and seances), and anything that might be called magic (trying to manipulate the material world by spiritual means).
What does the church say about ghosts? Fr Timothy Matkin 2006
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As dreams of the woman Lilitu haunt the warrior Pyrrhas, necromancy is in his future, it would seem.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: The Horror Stories Of Robert E. Howard - Robert E. Howard Blue Tyson 2008
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History as necromancy is avowed in the Preface to Life of
Notes on 'Attached to Reading: Mary Shelley's Psychical Reality' 2008
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I need hardly remind you that ‘necromancy’ is a Greek word, which signifies, according to its proper meaning, a prophesying by aid of the dead, or that it rests on the presumed power of raising up by potent spells the dead, and compelling them to give answers about things to come.
English Past and Present Richard Chenevix Trench 1846
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Victor the image of his former self, given Victor’s youthful interest in necromancy and raising the dead [22].
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The ordinary Englishman is not a great believer in devils or spirits of evil: though he does in some instances believe in ghosts, and is inclined to the practice of what in former ages was called necromancy -- the attempt to establish an illicit connexion with the spirits of the departed -- under the modern name of psychical research.
Religious Reality 1922
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"Let me explain!" said Donal: "what could necromancy, which is one of the branches of magic, do for one at the best?"
Donal Grant, by George MacDonald George MacDonald 1864
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So exceedingly sensitive was the conscience of the priest, that had he clearly understood the game le Bourdon was playing, he might have revolted at the idea of necromancy, as touching on the province of evil spirits; but he was so well mystified as to suppose all that passed was regularly connected with the art of taking bees.
Oak Openings James Fenimore Cooper 1820
lampbane commented on the word necromancy
Originally meant as divination by speaking to the dead, later came to mean black magic and demon summoning.
December 1, 2007