From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Necromancy \Nec"ro*man`cy\, n. [OE. nigromaunce, nigromancie,
OF. nigromance, F. n['e]cromance, n['e]cromancie, from L.
necromantia, Gr. ?; nekro`s a dead body (akin to L. necare to
kill, Skr. na[,c] to perish, vanish) + ? divination, fr. ?
diviner, seer, akin to E. mania. See {Mania}, and cf.
{Internecine}, {Noxious}. The old spelling is due to
confusion with L. niger black. Hence the name black art.]
The art of revealing future events by means of a pretended
communication with the dead; the black art; hence, magic in
general; conjuration; enchantment. See {Black art}.
[1913 Webster]
This palace standeth in the air,
By necromancy plac[`e]d there. --Drayton.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
necromancy
n 1: the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or
evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world
[syn: {sorcery}, {black magic}, {black art}, {necromancy}]
2: conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying
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