"Onomancy" is divination by the letters of a name. The term comes from the Greek "onoma-" (name) and "-mancy" (divination).
La "onomancia" es la adivinación a través de las letras de un nombre. El término proviene del griego "onoma-" (nombre) y "-mancy" (adivinación).
| Front | onomancy \ON-uh-man-see\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun Divination by the letters of a name. [From Greek onoma- (name) + -mancy (divination). Earliest recorded use: 1603. Some parents name their children after careful consideration of onomancy to assure the best possible future for them. Some people alter the spelling of their names or adopt a new name in an effort to bring good fortune. Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote a short story, "Spell My Name with an S", with this theme. The story was inspired by his frustration in having to ask people to spell his name (pronounced AZ-uh-mof) correctly.] "Kaplan and Bernays taught me all sorts of unexpected things about my name. They inspired me to try my hand at alphanumeric onomancy, in which the letters of a name are assigned numerical value, then added up to reveal occult facts about its owner." - Adam Goodheart; Naming Names: An Appellation Spring; The Washington Post; Feb 3, 1997. |
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