labiomancyn.
/ˈleɪbɪəmansi/, U.S. /ˈleɪbiəˌmænsi/, /ˈleɪbioʊˌmænsi/ Now rare.
The action or skill of apprehending what a person is saying by observing the movement of his or her lips; lip-reading.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > lip-reading
labiomancy1686
lip-reading1874
lip-language1879
speech-reading1891
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. viii. 288 So..skill'd was she in this Art (which we may call Labiomancy)..that..when in bed, if she might lay but her hand on their lipps so as to feel the motions of them, she could perfectly understand what her bedfellows said.
1765 Universal Mag. Oct. 185/1 (heading) Some very extraordinary instances of labiomancy, or divination by the lips.
1892 Wade's Fibre & Fabric 10 Sept. 35/3 They are so proficient in labiomancy that they can follow a private conversation anywhere if they can see the speakers' faces.
1996 C. Dexter Death is now my Neighbour (1997) 27 An observer skilled in the art of labiomancy would have read the two words on his smoothly smiling mouth: ‘Well! Well!’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1686- discrete degree
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