Oneiromancy
/ˈɒnɪəʊˌmænsi/noun
The practice of divination by interpreting dreams.
Did you know?Ancient Greek dream interpreters treated dreams as omens from gods, while Artemidorus of Daldis wrote an extensive dream-symbol manual called the Oneirocritica.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*men-
“To think, remember, or have a mental perception; a proposed root behind the divination element in Greek manteia.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ὄνειρος (óneiros)
“Dream; especially a significant or prophetic dream.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
μάντις (mántis)
“Seer or prophet, a person who interprets signs from the divine.”
Classical Greek
Greek
ὀνειρομαντεία (oneiromanteía)
“Divination through dreams; literally, dream-prophecy or dream-divination.”
Late Greek and Latin
Greek/Latin
oneiromantia
“Dream divination, transmitted in learned religious and occult vocabulary.”
18th Century
English
oneiromancy
“The practice of interpreting dreams as a form of divination.”