fortune-tellingn.
/ˈfɔːtʃuːnˌtɛlɪŋ/, /ˈfɔːtʃ(ə)nˌtɛlɪŋ/, /ˈfɔːtjuːnˌtɛlɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈfɔrtʃənˌtɛlɪŋ/ The practice of ‘telling fortunes’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > fortune-telling > [noun]
fortune-telling?1577
tick-off1934
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 34 Forbidding..euill and vnprofitable artes..or fortune tellings.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 161 We are simple men, wee doe not know what's brought to passe vnder the profession of Fortune-telling . View more context for this quotation
1655 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) v. 161 The Gypsies were then to divide all the money..got..by Fortune telling.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron II. vi. xxi. 75 They are..addicted to..Astrology, Fortune-telling, and Presages of all kinds.
Derivatives
ˈfortune-telling adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > fortune-telling > [adjective]
fortunizing1652
fortune-tellinga1658
a1658 J. Cleveland Fuscara 26, in Wks. (1687) 2 He tipples Palmestry, and dines On all her Fortune-telling Lines.
1681 S. Colvil Mock Poem (1751) 49 He finds both comets and eclipses, But pretty fortune telling gipsies.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion vii. 313 Belong they to the fortune-telling Tribe? View more context for this quotation
ˈfortune-tell v. a back-formation from fortune-teller n.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > fortune-telling > tell someone's fortune [verb (transitive)]
read1565
fortune-tella1616
redec1640
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 173 Out of my doore, you Witch!.. Ile coniure you, Ile fortune-tell you. View more context for this quotation
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.?1577