Meanings
- uncountableA form of Ancient Greek divination by the interpretation of dreams with the aid of the goddess Brizo; hence, divination by dreams.
Scaramouch took himself off and applied to all sorts of Divination for the purpose of discovering where the lost bottle was lying. He tried [...] Brizomancy, or by the nodding sleep[.]
1901, Maria Ward Brown, The Life of Dan Rice, page 3522 more examples
The very fact that each specific method, or variant, had a name, testifies to the prevalence and widespread recognition of divinatory practices. The prophetic inspiration of Brizo, a goddess of sleep, gave rise to brizomancy.
1961, H.E. Wedeck, Treasury of Witchcraft, page 220A common name for succubus was Brizo, after the Greek Goddess of sleep whose title came from brizein, to enchant, and referred to a special kind of incubation known as brizomancy. Like the Babylonian dream-Goddess, Nanshe, Brizo brought prophetic dreams which were later called wet dreams.
2013, Edward L. Nydle, The Legend of Lilith: The Origins of Evil and the Fall of Man, page 94
Origin
- Ancient GreekΒριζόμαντις“diviner of dreams, an appellation the goddess Brizo of Delos”
- Ancient GreekΒριζώ“the goddess of dreams worshipped at Delos”
- Englishbrizomancy
From Ancient Greek Βριζώ (Brizṓ, “the goddess of dreams worshipped at Delos”), from βρίζω (brízō, “sleep”) + -mancy. Compare Ancient Greek Βριζόμαντις (Brizómantis, “diviner of dreams, an appellation the goddess Brizo of Delos”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
brizomancy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brizomancy
“brizomancy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brizomancy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brizomancy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brizomancy.
Source: brizomancy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.