Crossword clues for divination
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Divination \Div`i*na"tion\, n. [L. divinatio, fr. divinare, divinatum, to foresee, foretell, fr. divinus: cf. F. divination. See Divine.]
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The act of divining; a foreseeing or foretelling of future events; the pretended art discovering secret or future by preternatural means.
There shall not be found among you any one that . . . useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter.
--Deut. xviii. 10.Note: Among the ancient heathen philosophers natural divination was supposed to be effected by a divine afflatus; artificial divination by certain rites, omens, or appearances, as the flight of birds, entrails of animals, etc.
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An indication of what is future or secret; augury omen; conjectural presage; prediction.
Birds which do give a happy divination of things to come.
--Sir T. North.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c., from Old French divination (13c.), from Latin divinationem (nominative divinatio) "the power of foreseeing, prediction," noun of action from past participle stem of divinare, literally "to be inspired by a god" (see divine (adj.)).
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context uncountable English) The act of divining; a foreseeing or foretelling of future events. 2 The apparent art of discovering secrets or the future by preternatural means. 3 (context countable English) An indication of what is future or secret; augury omen; conjectural presage; prediction.
WordNet
n. successful conjecture by unusual insight or good luck
a prediction uttered under divine inspiration [syn: prophecy]
the art or gift of prophecy (or the pretense of prophecy) by supernatural means [syn: foretelling, soothsaying, fortune telling]
Wikipedia
Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god", related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.
Divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition. In the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to the career of a charlatan, " Alexander the false prophet", trained by "one of those who advertise enchantments, miraculous incantations, charms for your love-affairs, visitations for your enemies, disclosures of buried treasure, and successions to estates", even though most Romans believed in prophetic dreams and charms.
Divination, plural divinations, refers to the art of obtaining a prophecy by some sort of ritual practice of divination, or to the prophecies. Divination may also refer to:
Divination is the debut album by Australian metalcore band In Hearts Wake. The album was released on August 31, 2012 through UNFD. 'Divination’ is based upon a ‘Tarot’ concept in that each song emulates the essence and meaning of a particular Major Arcana Tarot card.
Usage examples of "divination".
By the exercise of the gift of divination it would seem that Hassan of Aleppo had forecast the future history of the accursed slipper or believed that he had done so.
And indeed Boiamondo discovered one day that, on that very evening, the basileus would go to the ancient crypt of Katabates to perform rites of divination and magic.
There is, according to the Pythagoreans, a connection between the gods and numbers, which constitutes the kind of Divination called Arithmomancy.
Whilst he is in this state he is ready to trust in divination in any manner his fancy leads him, and is more or less disposed to believe in the oracle of which he makes choice.
After that we had tarried there a few dayes at the cost and charges of the whole Village, and had gotten much mony by our divination and prognostication of things to come: The priests of the goddesse Siria invented a new meanes to picke mens purses, for they had certaine lotts, whereon were written : Coniuncti terram proscindunt boves ut in futurum loeta germinent sata That is to say : The Oxen tied and yoked together, doe till the ground to the intent it may bring forth his increase : and by these kind of lottes they deceive many of the simple sort, for if one had demanded whether he should have a good wife or no, they would say that his lot did testifie the same, that he should.
Love would not be of divine origin did he not possess the faculty of divination.
He had solicited the spells and divinations of wizards and occultists - all in vain.
Although all the women in her set dabbled in astrology, the tiles, and other forms of divination, only she had any talent for it.
My good genius then inspired me with the idea of trying divination by the cabala.
Without the art of divination, one might foretel, that so gross and impious a blasphemy would not fail to be anathematized by the people.
They say that by astrological divination he predicts the return of the Basics, that he walks with his neck cocked, watching the sky.
Vannini to get me a servant of the same build, not gifted with the faculty of divination, but who knew how to obey his master's orders.
His attempt at divination had ended in ambiguities and uncertainties, as such attempts often did.
The observation of universal analogies, moreover, has been neglected, and for that reason divination is no longer believed in.
The art of magic, as it was more cruelly punished, was more strictly proscribed: but the emperor admitted a formal distinction to protect the ancient methods of divination, which were approved by the senate, and exercised by the Tuscan haruspices.