Fortune telling

Fortune telling
Fortune For"tune (f[^o]r"t[-u]n; 135), n. [F. fortune, L. fortuna; akin to fors, fortis, chance, prob. fr. ferre to bear, bring. See {Bear} to support, and cf. {Fortuitous}.] 1. The arrival of something in a sudden or unexpected manner; chance; accident; luck; hap; also, the personified or deified power regarded as determining human success, apportioning happiness and unhappiness, and distributing arbitrarily or fortuitously the lots of life. [1913 Webster]

'T is more by fortune, lady, than by merit. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

O Fortune, Fortune, all men call thee fickle. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. That which befalls or is to befall one; lot in life, or event in any particular undertaking; fate; destiny; as, to tell one's fortune. [1913 Webster]

You, who men's fortunes in their faces read. --Cowley. [1913 Webster]

3. That which comes as the result of an undertaking or of a course of action; good or ill success; especially, favorable issue; happy event; success; prosperity as reached partly by chance and partly by effort. [1913 Webster]

Our equal crimes shall equal fortune give. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

His father dying, he was driven to seek his fortune. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

4. Wealth; large possessions; large estate; riches; as, a gentleman of fortune.

Syn: Chance; accident; luck; fate. [1913 Webster]

{Fortune book}, a book supposed to reveal future events to those who consult it. --Crashaw.

{Fortune hunter}, one who seeks to acquire wealth by marriage.

{Fortune teller}, one who professes to tell future events in the life of another.

{Fortune telling}, the practice or art of professing to reveal future events in the life of another. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Fortune-Telling —    Although comparatively few Gypsy women practice fortune telling, it provides a useful first or second income for those families who pursue this profession. Many Kalderash families specialize in fortune telling, with the daughters learning from …   Historical dictionary of the Gypsies

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  • fortune-telling — ➡ gypsies * * *       the forecasting of future events or the delineation of character by methods not ordinarily considered to have a rational basis. Evidence indicates that forms of fortune telling were practiced in ancient China, Egypt, Chaldea …   Universalium

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  • fortune-telling — noun or adjective see fortune teller …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fortune telling — 1. noun The act of predicting a persons future. 2. verb Predicting a persons future …   Wiktionary

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  • fortune telling — for·tune tell·ing || ‚fÉ”rtʃn‚telɪŋ /‚fɔːt foretelling the future, predicting the future …   English contemporary dictionary

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