Palm definition | Dictionary.com

palm

1 [pahm]

–noun

1.	the part of the inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.

2.	the corresponding part of the forefoot of an animal.

3.	the part of a glove covering this part of the hand.

4.	Also called sailmaker's palm. a stiff rawhide or metal shield worn over this part of the hand by sailmakers to serve as a thimble.

5.	a linear measure of from 3 to 4 inches (7 ¹/₂ –10 centimeters), based on the breadth of the hand.

6.	a linear measure of from 7 to 10 inches (17 ¹/₂ –25 centimeters), based on the length of the hand.

7.	the flat, expanded part of the horn or antler of a deer.

8.	a flat, widened part at the end of an armlike projection.

Nautical.

a.	the blade of an oar.

b.	the inner face of an anchor fluke.

c.	(loosely) an anchor fluke.

10.	a flat-topped bearing member at the head of a stanchion.

–verb (used with object)

11.	to conceal in the palm, as in cheating at cards or dice or in juggling.

12.	to pick up stealthily.

13.	to hold in the hand.

14.	to impose (something) fraudulently (usually fol. by on or upon): to palm stolen jewels on someone.

15.	to touch or stroke with the palm or hand.

16.	to shake hands with.

17.	Basketball. to grip (the ball) momentarily with the hand in the act of dribbling.

—Verb phrase

18.	palm off, to dispose of by deception, trickery, or fraud; substitute (something) with intent to deceive: Someone had palmed off a forgery on the museum officials.

—Idiom

19.	grease someone's palm, to give money to, esp. as a bribe: Before any work could begin, it was necessary to grease the superintendent's palm.

Origin:
1300–50; < L palma (c. OE folm hand); r. ME paume < MF < L palma

palm

2 [pahm]

–noun

1.	any of numerous plants of the family Palmae, most species being tall, unbranched trees surmounted by a crown of large pinnate or palmately cleft leaves. Compare palm family.

2.	any of various other trees or shrubs that resemble this.

3.	a leaf or branch of such a tree, esp. as formerly borne to signify victory or as used on festive occasions.

4.	a representation of such a leaf or branch, as on a military or other decoration of honor, usually indicating a second award of the decoration.

5.	the reward of honor due to a victor: In oratory she yields the palm to no one.

6.	victory; triumph; success: He carried off the palm by sheer perseverance.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE < L palma palm tree, special use of palma palm ¹

Related forms:

palmlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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palm¹ (päm)

1. The inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
2. The similar part of the forefoot of a quadruped.
A unit of length equal to either the width or the length of the hand.
The part of a glove or mitten that covers the palm of the hand.
Nautical A metal shield worn by sailmakers over the palm of the hand and used to force a needle through heavy canvas.
Nautical The blade of an oar or paddle.
The flattened part of the antlers of certain animals, such as the moose.

tr.v. palmed, palm·ing, palms

1. To hold in the palm of the hand.
2. To touch or stroke with the palm of the hand.
To conceal in the palm of the hand, as in cheating at dice or cards or in a sleight-of-hand trick.
To pick up furtively.
Basketball To commit a violation by letting (the ball) rest momentarily in the palm of the hand while dribbling.

Phrasal Verb(s):
palm offTo dispose of or pass off by deception.

Idiom(s):
an itchy palmA strong desire for money, especially bribes.

[Middle English paume, from Old French, from Latin palma, palm tree, palm of the hand; see pelə-² in Indo-European roots.]
palm'ful' n.

palm² (päm)

Any of various chiefly tropical evergreen trees, shrubs, or woody vines of the family Palmae (or Arecaceae), characteristically having unbranched trunks with a crown of large pinnate or palmate leaves having conspicuous parallel venation.
A leaf of a palm tree, carried as an emblem of victory, success, or joy.
Triumph; victory.
A small metallic representation of a palm leaf added to a military decoration that has been awarded more than one time.

[Middle English, from Old English and from Old French palme, both from Latin palma, palm of the hand, palm tree (from the shape of the tree's fronds); see pelə-² in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Palm

Palm\, v. t. To "grease the palm" of; to bribe or tip. [Slang]

Palm

Palm\, n. [OE. paume, F. paume, L. palma, Gr. ?, akin to Skr. p[=a]ni hand, and E. fumble. See Fumble, Feel, and cf. 2d Palm.]

1. (Anat.) The inner and somewhat concave part of the hand between the bases of the fingers and the wrist.

Clench'd her fingers till they bit the palm. --Tennyson.

2. A lineal measure equal either to the breadth of the hand or to its length from the wrist to the ends of the fingers; a hand; -- used in measuring a horse's height.

Note: In Greece, the palm was reckoned at three inches. The Romans adopted two measures of this name, the lesser palm of 2.91 inches, and the greater palm of 8.73 inches. At the present day, this measure varies in the most arbitrary manner, being different in each country, and occasionally varying in the same. --Internat. Cyc.

3. (Sailmaking) A metallic disk, attached to a strap, and worn the palm of the hand, -- used to push the needle through the canvas, in sewing sails, etc.

4. (Zo["o]l.) The broad flattened part of an antler, as of a full-grown fallow deer; -- so called as resembling the palm of the hand with its protruding fingers.

5. (Naut.) The flat inner face of an anchor fluke.

Palm

Palm\, n. [AS. palm, L. palma; -- so named fr. the leaf resembling a hand. See lst Palm, and cf. Pam.]

1. (Bot.) Any endogenous tree of the order Palm[ae] or Palmace[ae]; a palm tree.

Note: Palms are perennial woody plants, often of majestic size. The trunk is usually erect and rarely branched, and has a roughened exterior composed of the persistent bases of the leaf stalks. The leaves are borne in a terminal crown, and are supported on stout, sheathing, often prickly, petioles. They are usually of great size, and are either pinnately or palmately many-cleft. There are about one thousand species known, nearly all of them growing in tropical or semitropical regions. The wood, petioles, leaves, sap, and fruit of many species are invaluable in the arts and in domestic economy. Among the best known are the date palm, the cocoa palm, the fan palm, the oil palm, the wax palm, the palmyra, and the various kinds called cabbage palm and palmetto.

2. A branch or leaf of the palm, anciently borne or worn as a symbol of victory or rejoicing.

A great multitude . . . stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palme in their hands. --Rev. vii. 9.

3. Hence: Any symbol or token of superiority, success, or triumph; also, victory; triumph; supremacy. "The palm of martyrdom." --Chaucer.

So get the start of the majestic world And bear the palm alone. --Shak.

Molucca palm (Bot.), a labiate herb from Asia (Molucella l[ae]vis), having a curious cup-shaped calyx.

Palm cabbage, the terminal bud of a cabbage palm, used as food.

Palm cat (Zo["o]l.), the common paradoxure.

Palm crab (Zo["o]l.), the purse crab.

Palm oil, a vegetable oil, obtained from the fruit of several species of palms, as the African oil palm (El[ae]is Guineensis), and used in the manufacture of soap and candles. See El[ae]is.

Palm swift (Zo["o]l.), a small swift (Cypselus Batassiensis) which frequents the palmyra and cocoanut palms in India. Its peculiar nest is attached to the leaf of the palmyra palm.

Palm toddy. Same as Palm wine.

Palm weevil (Zo["o]l.), any one of mumerous species of very large weevils of the genus Rhynchophorus. The larv[ae] bore into palm trees, and are called palm borers, and grugru worms. They are considered excellent food.

Palm wine, the sap of several species of palms, especially, in India, of the wild date palm (Ph[oe]nix sylvestrix), the palmyra, and the Caryota urens. When fermented it yields by distillation arrack, and by evaporation jaggery. Called also palm toddy.

Palm worm, or Palmworm. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The larva of a palm weevil. (b) A centipede.

Palm

Palm\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Palmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Palming.]

1. To handle. [Obs.] --Prior.

2. To manipulate with, or conceal in, the palm of the hand; to juggle.

They palmed the trick that lost the game. --Prior.

3. To impose by fraud, as by sleight of hand; to put by unfair means; -- usually with off.

For you may palm upon us new for old. --Dryden.

Language Translation for : Palm

Spanish: palma,

German: die Handinnenfläche,

Japanese: 手のひら

More Translations »

palm (1)

"flat of the hand," c.1300, from O.Fr. palme, from L. palma "palm of the hand," from PIE *pela- "to spread out, flat" (cf. Gk. palame "open hand," O.Ir. lam, Welsh llaw O.E. folm, O.H.G. folma "hand," Skt. panih "hand, hoof"). To palm (something) off is from 1822; earlier simply to palm "impose (something) on (someone)" (1679). Palm oil is earlier in the punning sense of "bribe" (c.1627) than in the literal sense of "oil from the fruit of the W.African palm" (1705, from palm (2)).

palm (2)

"tropical tree," O.E. palma, O.Fr. palme, both from L. palma "palm tree," originally "palm of the hand;" the tree so called from the shape of its leaves, like fingers of a hand (see palm (1)). The word traveled early to northern Europe, where the tree does not grow, via Christianity (e.g. O.E. palm-sunnandæg "Palm Sunday"). In ancient times, a leaf or frond was carried or worn as a symbol of victory or triumph, or on feast days; hence fig. use of palm for "victory, triumph" (c.1386), and adj. palmy "triumphant" (1602). Palm court "large room in a hotel, etc., usually decorated with potted palms" first recorded 1908. Palmer "pilgrim who has returned from the Holy Land" (1176, as a surname) is from Anglo-Fr. palmer (O.Fr. palmier), from M.L. palmarius, from L. palma "palm tree." So called because they wore palm branches in commemoration of the journey.

Main Entry: palm
Pronunciation: 'pä(l)m
Function: noun
: the somewhat concave part of the human hand between the bases of the fingers and the wrist orthe corresponding part of the forefoot of a lower mammal

palm (päm)
n.
The inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the base of the fingers.

palm

In addition to the idiom beginning with palm, also see cross someone's palm; grease someone's palm; itchy palm.

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