Meanings
- uncountableDivination by reading a random passage from a poem.
1953, Gaynor (ed.), Dict. Mysticism Rhapsodomancy: A form of divination, based on a line in a sacred book or book of poetry which strikes the eye when the book is opened, or which is the last line to be pierced by a needle stuck through the closed book.
2 more examples
Rhapsodomantia sive divinatio ex rhapsodia aliqva poëtæ.
1723, Fabricii, Bibliographia Antiquaria xiiUsing chance to arrive at a particular passage in the I Ching is a form of rhapsodomancy: the seeking of guidance through the chance selection of a passage in a literary work. Another early form of rhapsodomancy is represented by the sibylline books. [...]
1998, Deborah J. Bennett, Randomness, Harvard University Press, page 42
Origin
- Ancient Greekῥαψῳδός
- Frenchrhapsodomancie
- Englishrhapsodomancy
From French rhapsodomancie, from Ancient Greek ῥαψῳδός (rhapsōidós) + -mancy.
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
rhapsodomancy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhapsodomancy
“rhapsodomancy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhapsodomancy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rhapsodomancy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhapsodomancy.
Source: rhapsodomancy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.