table-rappingn.
/ˈteɪblˌrapɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈteɪb(ə)lˌræpɪŋ/ Spiritualism.
The production of rapping or knocking sounds, attributed to spirits attempting to communicate, esp. on a table during a seance; (also more generally) spiritualism, the practice of attempting to communicate with spirits. Cf. table-turning n., spirit rapping n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > rapping or moving table (by spirit)
spirit rappings1846
table tipping1846
rapping1848
table-lifting1852
table-moving1852
table-turning1852
rap1853
table-rapping1853
table-tapping1854
table tilting1858
1853 Bible & People 3 183 Owen's miraculous conversion by table-rapping had been ridiculed.
1860 All Year Round 14 July 328 His aunt, who almost made a profession of table-rapping, who kept a journal of her spiritual experiences.
1925 H. G. Wells Christina Alberta's Father i. vi. 138 They seem to have muddled about with spiritualism in the evenings while I was in London, tablerapping and so forth.
1973 T. Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow i. 55 The young statistician is devoted to number and to method, not table-rapping or wishful thinking.
2000 Guardian (Nexis) 2 Oct. 5 Hillary Clinton, one is reliably told, leans more towards table-rapping than star charts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
table-rappingadj.
/ˈteɪblˌrapɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈteɪb(ə)lˌræpɪŋ/ Spiritualism.
That practises or engages in table-rapping (table-rapping n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [adjective] > that raps (of spirit)
rapping1566
table-rapping1854
1854 Proc. Connecticut Med. Soc. 82 Every ‘experienced’ old woman..and table-rapping clairvoyant, knows as much, and generally much more than the regular doctor.
1857 J. G. H. Brown Message from World of Spirits ii. i. 142 Even table-rapping mediums are genuine in some instances.
1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 31 Oct. b31 In the suburbs..neighbors will leave a person alone with his own little piece of psychic manifestation or table-rapping ectoplasm.
2002 D. M. Wegner Illusion Conscious Will iv. 102 A group in the 1960s that met to conjure up a table-rapping spirit called Philip.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1853adj.1854