Iatromancy
/ˌaɪ.ə.trəˈmæn.si/noun
Divination practiced through medical observation or the interpretation of illness and bodily signs.
Did you know?Its Greek ingredients combine iatros, “physician,” with manteia, “divination,” reflecting an era when medicine, prophecy, and ritual healing were not sharply separated.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
iatros
“Physician, healer, or medical practitioner”
Ancient Greek
Greek
manteia
“Prophecy, divination, or the practice of obtaining supernatural knowledge”
Ancient Greek
Greek
iatromanteia
“Divination through medical knowledge, illness, or bodily signs”
Late Antiquity
Greek/Latin
iatromantia
“Medical divination; a learned term describing the interpretation of disease as an omen”
19th Century
English
iatromancy
“Divination by means of medicine or the observation of illness”
Modern English
English
iatromancy
“A specialized historical term for medical or illness-based divination”
Explore more surprising origins