palm
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: päm
ipa: /pɑːm/
enpr: päm
enpr: pälm
ipa: /pɑm/
ipa: /pɑlm/
ipa: /pɔm/
ipa: /pɔlm/
ipa: /pæm/
ipa: [pɑːm]
ipa: [pɒːm]
ipa: /ˈpæm/
ipa: /ˈpam/
rhymes: -ɑːm
rhymes: -ɑːlm
rhymes: -ɔːm
rhymes: -ɔːlm
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: palms
Etymology: From Middle English palme, paume, from Old French palme, paulme, paume (“palm of the hand, ball, tennis”), from Latin palma (“palm of the hand, hand-breadth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂(e)meh₂ (“palm of the hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of palmo, palma, and pam. Cognate with Ancient Greek παλάμη (palámē, “palm of the hand”), Old English folm (“palm of the hand”), Old Irish lám (“hand”).
Senses: examples: text: [She] flung herself / Down on the great King's couch, and writhed upon it, / And clench'd her fingers till they bit the palm, / And shriek'd out 'traitor' to the unhearing wall, […]
ref: 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 179:
text: The open palm of desire wants everything.
ref: 1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “Further to Fly”, in The Rhythm of the Saints, Warner Bros.:
synonyms: loof
antonyms: hardel
glosses: The inner and somewhat concave part of the human hand or other primate hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.
glosses: The corresponding part of the forefoot of a nonprimate mammal.
examples: text: He found it to be ninety-five fathoms wide, and five palms deep at a place of average depth
ref: 1931, Herbert Eugene Bolton, Outpost of Empire: The Story of the Founding of San Francisco:
glosses: Synonym of hand, any of various units of length notionally derived from the breadth of the palm, formalized in England as 4 inches and now chiefly used for the height of horses
synonyms: word: hand
word: any of various units of length notionally derived from the breadth of the palm
word: formalized in England as 4 inches and now chiefly used for the height of horses
glosses: Any of various units of length notionally derived from the length of the palm from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
topics: arts
crafts
hobbies
lifestyle
nautical
sailmaking
transport
glosses: A metallic disk attached to a strap and worn in the palm of the hand; used to push the needle through the canvas, in sewing sails, etc.
examples: text: They watched until the younger bull received a second cut, this one on his flank from a point on the brow palm that would have impaled him if he hadn't jumped out of the way.
ref: 1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 168:
glosses: The broad flattened part of an antler, as of a full-grown fallow deer; so called as resembling the palm of the hand with its protruding fingers.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: The flat inner face of an anchor fluke.
Derived terms: cross someone's palm
cross someone's palm with silver
eat from the palm of someone's hand
eat out of the palm of someone's hand
eigenpalm
facepalm
grease someone's palm
have someone in the palm of one's hand
heel-palm
impalm
in the palm of one's hand
itchy palm
know like the palm of one's hand
palmable
palmball
palm card
palmcorder
palmful
palmist
palmistry
palmless
palmlike
palmload
palm mute
palm muted
palm muting
palmoplantar
palm print
palmprint
palm reader
palm reading
palmrest
palmster
palm stone
palmtop
palmward
palmwards
palmwise
unpalm
vibrating palm