Omphalomancies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of divination using the navel of an individual or through observations related to the umbilical region
2. A form of fortune-telling that interprets signs based on the characteristics or movements associated with the navel
3. A method of predicting future events by analyzing the omphalic area or deriving meanings from umbilical phenomena

Etymology: Omphalomancy is a plural-friendly noun, so "omphalomancies" is simply its plural: the practice of divining the future by examining the navel. The base word comes from Greek "omphalos," meaning "navel," and "-manteia," meaning "divination," the same element found in "necromancy" and "geomancy." The term is a learned coinage built from these classical parts, formed in English and other modern languages rather than attested in ancient Greek, where the practice was never named this way. Plural forms of such terms are used when discussing multiple distinct instances or traditions of the practice.