cledonism
nounEtymology From Ancient Greek κληδών (klēdṓn, “an omen”) + -ism.
1
Divination through the interpretation of words (written or spoken) encountered by chance.
- And indeed cledonism, or the putting of a prophetic sense on words spoken with another reference (John xi. 50 sq.) can never have been the business of a class of men (Jud. ix. 37, Jer. xxvii. 9, Micah v. 12), or been so marked a type of divination that Isaiah could speak of it as characteristically Philistine, and that Isa. lvii. 3 could found on it a name of opprobrium.1885, The Journal of Philology, volume XIV, page 117:
- We shall find Cledonism stereotyped and converted into palpable lots in the most perfected of the lottery methods, that which uses written speech, phrases designated by chance and applied to a given interrogation.1924 March 23, The Fortnightly Review, page 444:
- Synonyms
- cledonomancy