Palm Definition

päm
palmed, palming, palms
noun
palms
The similar part of the forefoot of a quadruped.
American Heritage Medicine
Victory; triumph.
Webster's New World
The inner part or surface of the hand between the fingers and wrist.
Webster's New World
Any of an order (Arecales) of tropical or subtropical monocotyledonous trees and shrubs, having a woody, usually unbranched, trunk and large, evergreen, featherlike or fan-shaped leaves growing in a bunch at the top.
Webster's New World
The part of a glove, mitten, etc. that covers the palm.
Webster's New World
verb
palmed, palming, palms
To hold in the palm of the hand.
American Heritage
To hide (something) in the palm or between the fingers, as in a sleight-of-hand trick.
Webster's New World
To touch or stroke with the palm of the hand.
American Heritage
To momentarily rest (a basketball) in the upturned palm while dribbling: an illegal technique.
Webster's New World
To pick up furtively.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
adjective
Designating the only family (Arecaceae) of palms, including the coconut palm, betel palm, and date palm.
Webster's New World
idiom
an itchy palm
  • A strong desire for money, especially bribes.
American Heritage
bear the palm
  • to be the winner; take the prize
Webster's New World
yield the palm to
  • to acknowledge the superiority of; admit to defeat by
Webster's New World
have an itching palm
  • to desire money greedily
Webster's New World
palm off
  • to cause, by trickery or deceit, to be accepted as genuine or true
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Palm

Noun

Singular:
palm
Plural:
palms

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Palm

  • an itchy palm
  • bear the palm
  • yield the palm to
  • have an itching palm
  • palm off

Origin of Palm

  • 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 *palam-, *plām- (“palm of the hand"). Cognate with Ancient Greek παλάμη (palámÄ“, “palm of the hand"), Old English folm (“palm of the hand"), Old Irish lám (“hand").

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English palme, from Old English palm, palma (“palm-tree, palm-branch"), from Latin palma (“palm-tree, palm-branch, palm of the hand"), from Proto-Indo-European *palam-, *plām- (“palm of the hand"). Cognate with Dutch palm, German Palme, Danish palme, Icelandic pálmur (“palm").

    From Wiktionary

  • 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) pelə-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English paume from Old French from Latin palma palm tree, palm of the hand pelə-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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