“Mancy” – Divining definitions

 

“Mancy,” the suffix, means “divination by means of.” It comes from Medieval French

-mancie. This in turn is from the Latin -mantia. The source for that is the Greek manteia, which means “oracle.” In Greek, “mantis” means “seer, one who is on touched by divine madness.” The source for this is the Greek “mainesthai,” to be inspired. This is believed to be from the Proto-Indo European word *mnyo, which means “to think,” which developed into menos, “passion, spirit.”

 

“Mancy,” the suffix, has been applied to all things involving magic. It has become the general term for Black Magic. (However, the suffix should be restricted to divination.) In Medieval times, people lumped divination with other forms of magic, and labeled it all as “mancy.” For example, necromancy is the art of raising the dead to give them tasks to perform. The original meaning for necromancy was speaking to the dead and asking a question.

 

Cicero, in his writings, “On Divination,” said that word “divination” is from “divi” meaning Gods in Latin. (Note 1) He explained that for Romans, divination was “the power to see, understand, and explain premonitory signs given to men by the Gods.” In Rome, no public business was transacted without first taking the auspices.

 

There are different types of divination that is not called “mancy.” Taking the auspices (augury) is the means of consulting the Gods. Oracles which come from the Latin (orare, “to speak”) are divine communications in response to a specific question. Oracles are always associated with a defined person or place such as Pythia at Delphi. Meanwhile, a prophesy is a message delivered by a God to a person. Prophesies are rooted in a vision received or by direct interaction with a God.

 

Notes:

Note 1. According to Cicero, the Greeks used the term derived from “furor” which means “frenzy,” that is “mantis.”

 

Works Used:

Cicero, “On Divination (De Divinatione).” (trans. W. A. Falconer.) Independently Published. 2017.

 

Goodman, Nik W. D., “Ceromancy, Metalomancy.” Independently Published. 2021.

–, “Leadcasting: Molybdomancy: The Oracle Art of Metal Casting.” Independently Published. 2022.

 

Harper, Douglas, “-mancy,” Online Etymology Dictionary. 2024. Web. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=mancy .