palm [palmpalmspalmedpalming] noun, verb BrE [pɑːm] NAmE [pɑːm] noun 1. the inner surface of the hand between the wrist and the fingers •He held the bird gently in the palm of his hand. •sweaty palms •to read sb's palm (= to say what you think will happen to sb by looking at the lines on their ↑palm ) 2. (alsoˈpalm tree)a straight tree with a mass of long leaves at the top, growing in tropical countries. There are several types of palm tree, some of which produce fruit •a date palm •a coconut palm •palm leaves/fronds/groves more at cross sb's palm with silver at ↑crossv., grease sb's palm at ↑greasev.
Word Origin: n. sense 2 Old English palm(a) Germanic Dutch palm German Palme Latin palma ‘palm (of a hand)’ n. sense 1 and v. Middle English Old French paume Latin palma late 17th cent.
Example Bank: •He held up a palm for silence. •He ran his palm up and down Holly's shoulder. •He rubbed his palms against his jeans. •He showed me the coins in his palm. •He spread his palms in a gesture of openness. •He took her hand between his palms and squeezed it. •He went over to the wall and placed his palm on it. •His right palm was resting against my neck. •Hold out your arms with the palms facing downwards. •I pressed my palm to the wound to stop the bleeding. •She held out her hand to me, palm up. •She read people's palms and told fortunes. •She slapped her palm against the desk in anger. •The metal felt hot against my palms. Idiom: ↑have somebody in the palm of your hand Derived: ↑palm somebody off▪ ↑palm something off▪ ↑palm something off as something
verb ~ sth to hide a coin, card, etc. in your hand, especially when performing a trick Verb forms:
Word Origin: n. sense 2 Old English palm(a) Germanic Dutch palm German Palme Latin palma ‘palm (of a hand)’ n. sense 1 and v. Middle English Old French paume Latin palma late 17th cent.
