English
lunomancy
Lunomancy comes from Latin luna ‘moon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂1‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnā1‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluna2‘moon’
- Englishtodaylunomancy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin luna
- 2 Wiktionary, English lunomancy
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, Latin luna‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂Wiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnāWiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElunaWiktionary, English lunomancy‘moon’
- EnglishtodaylunomancyWiktionary, English lunomancy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
light, low, link, los, lucy, lea, ounce, illumination, illuminate, lux, lucid, lynx, translucent, luminous, lumen, luce, lumia, luminosity, loach, leucine, lum, luminescent, luminary, luminal, 72 more
through Proto-Italic *louksnā ‘moon’
through Latin luna ‘moon’
Today it means
noun divination by interpreting shadows created by moonlight on a person's face dusted with silver. This is most often done on the full moon to have the highest moonlight intensity.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lunomancy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin luna. 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 *lewk- / lunomancy