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(), n.[OE. paume, F. paume, L. palma, Gr. , akin to Skr. pni hand, and E. fumble. See Fumble, Feel, and cf. 2d Palm.] 1. (Anat.) The inner and somewhat concave part of the hand between the bases of the fingers and the wrist. Clench'd her fingers till they bit the palm. Tennyson. 2. A lineal measure equal either to the breadth of the hand or to its length from the wrist to the ends of the fingers; a hand; -- used in measuring a horse's height. In Greece, the palm was reckoned at three inches. The Romans adopted two measures of this name, the lesser palm of 2.91 inches, and the greater palm of 8.73 inches. At the present day, this measure varies in the most arbitrary manner, being different in each country, and occasionally varying in the same. Internat. Cyc. 3. (Sailmaking) A metallic disk, attached to a strap, and worn the palm of the hand, -- used to push the needle through the canvas, in sewing sails, etc. 4. (Zol.) The broad flattened part of an antler, as of a ful Palm n.[AS. palm, L. palma; -- so named fr. the leaf resembling a hand. See lst Palm, and cf. Pam.] 1. (Bot.) Any endogenous tree of the order Palm or Palmace; a palm tree. Palms are perennial woody plants, often of majestic size. The trunk is usually erect and rarely branched, and has a roughened exterior composed of the persistent bases of the leaf stalks. The leaves are borne in a terminal crown, and are supported on stout, sheathing, often prickly, petioles. They are usually of great size, and are either pinnately or palmately many-cleft. There are about one thousand species known, nearly all of them growing in tropical or semitropical regions. The wood, petioles, leaves, sap, and fruit of many species are invaluable in the arts and in domestic economy. Among the best known are the date palm, the cocoa palm, the fan palm, the oil palm, the wax palm, the palmyra, and the various kinds called cabbage palm and palmetto. 2. A branch or leaf of the palm, anciently borne or worn as a symb Palm (), v. t.[imp. & p. p.Palmed (); p. pr. & vb. n.Palming.] 1. To handle. [Obs.] Prior. 2. To manipulate with, or conceal in, the palm of the hand; to juggle. They palmed the trick that lost the game. Prior. 3. To impose by fraud, as by sleight of hand; to put by unfair means; -- usually with off. For you may palm upon us new for old. Dryden. Palm v. t.To "grease the palm" of; to bribe or tip. [Slang] スポンサード リンク
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