Question

hydromancy noun If you've ever encountered a sorceress or a wizard peering into a "scrying bowl" as part of a movie or a book, you've witnessed a (fictionalized) version of "hydromancy." The word has been used since at least the 14th century to describe the use of water in divination - examples include predicting the future by the motion of the tides or contacting spirits using still water. "Hydromancy" is believed to derive ultimately from the Greek words for "water" ("hydōr") and "divination" ("manteia"); it came to English via Latin "hydromantia." The ancient Greeks who relied on hydromancy also gave us the names for related forms of divination, such as "necromancy" (using the dead), "pyromancy" (with fire), and even "rhabdomancy," a fancy and now rare word for "divination with wands or rods." : divination by the appearance or motion of liquids (as water)

Accepted Answer

July 9, 2012 HYE-druh-man-see Madame Forthwith practices hydromancy, using a bowl of clear water to predict the future rather than the traditional crystal ball.  "Did that mean the Elders couldn't do hydromancy, or that they were too law-abiding to try it? I took a deep breath." - From Suzanne Johnson's 2012 fantasy novel Royal Street

Word	hydromancy
Date	July 9, 2012
Type	noun
Syllables	HYE-druh-man-see
Etymology	If you've ever encountered a sorceress or a wizard peering into a "scrying bowl" as part of a movie or a book, you've witnessed a (fictionalized) version of "hydromancy." The word has been used since at least the 14th century to describe the use of water in divination - examples include predicting the future by the motion of the tides or contacting spirits using still water. "Hydromancy" is believed to derive ultimately from the Greek words for "water" ("hydōr") and "divination" ("manteia"); it came to English via Latin "hydromantia." The ancient Greeks who relied on hydromancy also gave us the names for related forms of divination, such as "necromancy" (using the dead), "pyromancy" (with fire), and even "rhabdomancy," a fancy and now rare word for "divination with wands or rods."
Examples	Madame Forthwith practices hydromancy, using a bowl of clear water to predict the future rather than the traditional crystal ball. "Did that mean the Elders couldn't do hydromancy, or that they were too law-abiding to try it? I took a deep breath." - From Suzanne Johnson's 2012 fantasy novel Royal Street
Definition	: divination by the appearance or motion of liquids (as water)

Hydromancy Word Water Divination Future Motion July Noun