palm


Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
palm1
noun
  • 1 (also palm tree) an unbranched evergreen tree with a crown of very long feathered or fan-shaped leaves, growing in tropical and warm regions. [Family Palmae: numerous species.]
  • 2 a leaf of a palm awarded as a prize or viewed as a symbol of victory.
– origin OE palm(a), of Gmc origin, from L. palma ‘palm (of a hand)’, its leaf being likened to a spread hand.



Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
palm2
noun
  • 1 the inner surface of the hand between the wrist and fingers.
  • 2 the palmate part of a deer's antler.
verb
  • 1 conceal (a small object) in the hand, especially as part of a trick.
  • 2 (palm something off) informal sell or dispose of something by misrepresentation or fraud.

    ■ (palm someone off) persuade someone to accept something by deception.

  • 3 deflect (a ball) with the palm of the hand.
– phrases
in the palm of one's hand under one's control or influence.
read someone's palm tell someone's fortune by looking at the lines on their palm.
– derivatives
palmar /ˈpalmə/ adjective,
-palmed adjective,
palmful noun (pl. palmfuls).
– origin ME: from OFr. paume, from L. palma.
'palm' also found in these Oxford entries:

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