hepatoscopy

English
The Liver of Piacenza, a bronze Etruscan diagram of the regions of a sheep's liver used for hepatoscopy

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἡπατοσκοπία (hēpatoskopía), from ἥπατος (hḗpatos), genitive form of ἧπαρ (hêpar, “liver”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to see”). Equivalent to hepato- +‎ -scopy.

Noun

hepatoscopy (uncountable)

  1. (rare) Divination by the liver of an animal or bird. The liver was divided into sections, each section representing a deity, and the markings in these zones were important.
    • 1973 Collier's Encyc. x.
      Hepatomancy...animal livers

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Hypernyms
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