English Explanatory Dictionary

legerdemain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Sleight of hand; "magic" trickery.
  2. A show of skill or deceitful ability.

Pronunciation

/ˌlɛd͡ʒ.ə.dɨˈmeɪn/ /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.əɹ.dəˌmeɪn/ en-us-legerdemain.ogg

Word forms

legerdemain legerdemains

Etymology

From Middle English legerdemeyn, lechardemane, from Old French léger de main (literally “light of hand”), a phrase that meant “dexterous, skillful at fooling others (especially through sleights of hand)”, which was however treated as a noun when it was borrowed by late Middle English. The Modern French descendant léger de main of the Old French phrase is archaic but still sometimes found in older literature and simply means “skillful” without any connotation of sleight of hand.

Synonyms

prestidigitation sleight of hand conjuration conjuring dweomercraft hocus-pocus illusionism jugglery legerdemain magic prestigiation deception deceit dupery fiddle fetch list mislead Punic faith rinky-dink ruse subterfuge swack trickery

Derived words

legerdemainist

Translations

Finnish: silmänkääntötemppu Hungarian: szemfényvesztés Latin: praestīgia Polish: kuglarstwo Russian: ло́вкость рук Spanish: escamoteo Spanish: prestidigitación Swedish: taskspeleri Turkish: el çabukluğu
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