palm

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The inner surface of the hand, between the wrist and the fingers.

   My palms were rough after carrying bricks all day.

2. 2
   noun

   A tropical tree with a tall, straight trunk and large leaves at the top.

   Tall palms lined the beach in California.

3. 3
   verb

   To hide something in the palm of your hand, especially in a trick.

   The magician palmed the card without anyone noticing.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Palm, both for the inner surface of the hand and for the tropical tree, derives from Latin palma, “palm of the hand,” related to planus, “flat.” The tree was apparently named from the Roman custom of placing a palm branch in a victor’s hand, although many dictionaries treat the two English words separately. The verb meaning “conceal in the hand” arose in the late 17th century from card cheats hiding cards in this way.

From Middle English palme, paume, from Old French palme, paulme, paume (“palm of the hand, ball, tennis”), from Latin palma (“palm of the hand, hand-breadth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂(e)meh₂ (“palm of the hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of palmo, palma, and pam. Cognate with Ancient Greek παλάμη (palámē, “palm of the hand”), Old English folm (“palm of the hand”), Old Irish lám (“hand”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary