[From New Latin Chīronomidae, family name, from Chīronomus, type genus, from Latin chīronomos, moving the hands according to the rules of art, pantomimic (the genus being so called because the adults hold their front pair of legs in the air when at rest ), from Greek kheironomos : kheir, hand; see ghes- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + nomos, custom, law; see NEM-.]