/ pɑːm; NAmE / noun , verb
■ 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 )
—picture at hand
2.
(also ˈpalm 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
•
IDIOMS
- have sb in the palm of your hand
—more at cross verb , grease verb
■ verb
[ vn ] to hide a coin, card, etc. in your hand, especially when performing a trick
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- palm sb off (with sth)
- palm sth off (on / onto sb) | palm sb off (with sth)
- palm sth off as sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun sense 2 Old English palm(a) , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch palm and German Palme , from Latin palma palm (of a hand), its leaf being likened to a spread hand.
noun sense 1 and verb Middle English : from Old French paume , from Latin palma . Current senses of the verb date from the late 17th cent.