Etymograph

English

chartomancy

Chartomancy comes from Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘leaf of paper’, from χᾰρᾰ́σσω ‘to scratch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-1‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσω1khărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτης2‘leaf of paper’
  4. Englishtodaychartomancy2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English chartomancy

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantrainekhărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτηςWiktionary, English chartomancy‘leaf of paper’
  4. EnglishtodaychartomancyWiktionary, English chartomancy

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘to scratch’

girl, rocket, chronic, chorus, synchronous, crony, urchin, cron, synchronize, germanium, 33 more

through Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘leaf of paper’

card, cartoon, cartridge, cartel, carte, carton, cartography, cartouche, 12 more

Today it means

noun Divination by interpreting inscriptions on writing paper.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chartomancy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek χάρτης. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- / chartomancy

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