cromniomancy

C3R1O1M3N1I1O1M3A1N1C3Y4

noun

Divination by onions or onion sprouts.

OriginAncient Greek κρόμμῠον →
Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nouncromniomancy (uncountable)
  1. uncountableDivination by onions or onion sprouts.

    cromniomancy consisted of laying onions on which certain names had been written upon the altar on Christmas Day; when these were planted the one which sprouted first would give the required indication.

    1931, Lock tr. de Givry, Picture Museum of Sorcery
    1 more example

    1660, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy in Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. Burton […] speaks of "cromnysmantia," a kind of divination with onions laid on the altar at Christmas Eve, practised by girls, to know when they shall be married, and how many husbands they shall have. This appears also to have been a German custom.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκρόμμῠον“onion”
  2. Englishcromniomancy

From Ancient Greek κρόμμῠον (krómmŭon, “onion”) + -mancy.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cromniomancy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cromniomancy

MLA

“cromniomancy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cromniomancy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cromniomancy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cromniomancy.

Source: cromniomancy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.