# palm

Pronunciation: say "PAHM" US /pɑm/, UK /pɑːm/

## Noun

1. The slightly hollow inner surface of the hand between the wrist and the base of the fingers, or the matching surface on another mammal's forefoot.
   - Simple: The inside of your hand between your wrist and fingers, or the matching part of an animal's front foot.
   - _He traced the lines across his palm, pretending to read the future._
   - _She kneaded the dough with the heel of her palm._
2. An evergreen tree of the family Arecaceae, found mainly in the tropics, topped by a crown of large leaves.
   - Simple: A tall tree that grows in hot places, with big leaves at the top and no branches.
   - _A row of palms lined the beachfront promenade._
   - _The storm uprooted the old palm near the harbor._
4. A branch or leaf of the palm tree, carried or worn in ancient times as a symbol of victory or rejoicing.
   - Simple: A leaf or branch from a palm tree, carried long ago as a sign of victory or joy.
   - _The returning soldiers were greeted with palms strewn across the road._
   - _He raised a palm aloft as the champion's chariot rolled past._
6. Triumph or victory, especially the distinction of being the winner.
   - Simple: Victory, or the honor of being the winner.
9. The broad, flattened portion of an antler, as on a full-grown fallow deer.
   - Simple: The wide, flat part of a deer's antler.
   - _The fallow buck's antlers spread into wide palms._
   - _Snow gathered along the palm of the old stag's antler._
10. An old unit of length based on the hand, either its breadth (about three inches) or its length from wrist to fingertips.
   - Simple: An old way of measuring length using the width or length of a hand.
   - _Medieval builders used the palm, roughly the breadth of a hand, to set out small measurements._
   - _The old survey recorded the water over the sandbar as only five palms deep._

## Verb

3. To hold or conceal an object in the hand, as in a sleight-of-hand trick or to take something secretly.
   - Simple: To hide a small object in your hand, often to trick someone or to steal it.
   - _He palmed the dice and swapped them for a loaded pair._
   - _Pickpockets palm small valuables before slipping into the crowd._
5. To move an object by pushing it with the palm of the hand.
   - Simple: To push or move something using the flat inside of your hand.
   - _She palmed the heavy door shut behind her._
   - _Goalkeepers are taught to palm hard shots over the crossbar instead of trying to catch them._
7. To hold an object against the hand without bending the fingers around it significantly.
   - Simple: To hold something flat against your hand without curling your fingers much.
   - _Few people can palm a regulation basketball._
   - _He has such big hands that he can palm a basketball with ease._
8. To present one's palm as identification in order to pass through a door or security checkpoint.
   - Simple: To use your handprint to open a door or pass a security check.
   - _To get into the control room, she has to palm the security pad and wait for the light to turn green._
   - _She palmed the sensor and stepped into the secure wing._

## Verb

11. To bribe someone with a secret payment. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: To secretly give someone money to get a favor.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In the Boy Scouts of America, an award earned after the Eagle Scout rank for each further five merit badges, before a Scout turns eighteen.
- (noun) A metal disk fixed to a strap and worn on the inside of the hand, used to push a needle through canvas, as when sewing sails.
- (noun) The broad, flattened face of an anchor's fluke, on the side turned toward the shank.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 4, 6** — Latin palma, which meant "palm-tree," "palm-branch," and "palm of the hand," goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "flat." Old English took it as palm or palma, with the tree and branch senses, and it became Middle English palme. Dutch palm, German Palme, and Icelandic pálmi are related.
**Meanings 1, 3, 5, 7–11** — The word traces to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "flat," which gave Latin palma, meaning the "hand-breadth" or the "palm of the hand." Old French made this palme, paume ("palm of the hand, ball, tennis"), and Middle English took it as palme, paume. Cognates include Ancient Greek παλάμη (palámē), Old English folm, and Old Irish lám ("hand").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/palm (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).