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#202524 09/20/11 08:19 AM
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Enchiridion-hand book:

From Latin enchiridion, from Greek encheiridion, from en- (in) + cheir (hand) + -idion (diminutive suffix). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghes- (hand) that also gave us cheiromancy (palmistry), chiral (not superimposable on its mirror image), and surgeon (literally, one who works with hands). Earliest documented use: 1541.

With these examples I miss the word chiropractor. I add it because this kind of therapy once relieved me from a very painfully blocked neck nerve in three sessions. No medication, just hands.

chiropractic coined in Amer.Eng. 1898, from chiro- "hand" + praktikos "practical" (see practical), the whole of it loosely meant as "done by hand."
chiropractor
1904, agent noun in Latin form from chiropractic (q.v.).




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There is also a rarish word: chironomy 'the study of hand gestures' or 'using hand gestures to direct vocal performances'.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I see, ( dictionaries ) didn't know it was a study or science, but it is an amusing and interesting field. Some hand gestures are universal as I've noticed driving in different countries.

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As a child I was fascinated by the hand movements of the conductor. What did it all mean? We used to emulate the movements without understanding at all.

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Some conductors convey a great deal of information with simple, subtle gestures. Others make grand and elegant flourishes that only confuse.

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Originally Posted By: Tromboniator
Some conductors convey a great deal of information with simple, subtle gestures. Others make grand and elegant flourishes that only confuse.


...and entertain.

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just as a matter of exactitude, chironomy (in the classical sense, and it's not used much otherwise) was the use of hand gestures without an accompanying score.

link

Last edited by tsuwm; 09/21/11 03:47 PM. Reason: add link
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old hand
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Choirs, gospel or otherwise would be an example of this context

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Good link Ts

could chironomy also describe the practice of semaphore?

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chironomy (in the classical sense, and it's not used much otherwise) was the use of hand gestures without an accompanying score

It was a branch of rhetoric. I have a reprint of a manual of chironomy from the early in the 19th century and it's a listing of gestures to be used for rhetorical effect when declaiing a speech or when acting on the stage. I ran across the book while researching traditional gestures in 18th and 19th century performances of Hamlet (as a lark, not for monetary gain).

I have never run across the word to mean what a choir director does, but I have seen some of those people use hand gestures to urge the singers along.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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