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legerdemain - 7 dictionary results

leg⋅er⋅de⋅main

[lej-er-duh-meyn]
–noun
1. sleight of hand.
2. trickery; deception.
3. any artful trick.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME legerdemeyn, lygarde de mayne < MF: lit., light of hand


leg⋅er⋅de⋅main⋅ist, noun
leg·er·de·main   (lěj'ər-də-mān')   
n.  
  1. Sleight of hand.
  2. A show of skill or deceitful cleverness: financial legerdemain.

[Middle English legerdemayn, from Old French leger de main : leger, light (from Vulgar Latin *leviārius, from Latin levis; see legwh- in Indo-European roots) + de, of (from Latin ; see de-) + main, hand; see mortmain.]
Main Entry:  legerdemain1
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  sleight of hand; magic tricks; any illusory feat
Etymology:  French 'light of hand'
Main Entry:  legerdemain2
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  trickery; deception
Etymology:  French 'light of hand'
Main Entry:  legerdemain3
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  one who performs magic tricks
Etymology:  French 'light of hand'

Legerdemain

Leg`er*de*main"\ (l[e^]j`[~e]r*d[-e]*m[=a]n"), n. [F. l['e]ger light, nimble + de of + main hand, L. manus. See 3d Leger, and Manual.] Sleight of hand; a trick of sleight of hand; hence, any artful deception or trick.

He of legierdemayne the mysteries did know. --Spenser.

The tricks and legerdemain by which men impose upon their own souls. --South.

legerdemain 
c.1430, "conjuring tricks," from M.Fr. léger de main "quick of hand," from léger "light" in weight (from L. levis "light;" see lever) + main "hand" (from L. manus, see manual).
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