PALM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does palm mean? 

• PALM (noun)
  The noun PALM has 4 senses:

1. the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers

2. a linear unit based on the length or width of the human hand

3. any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leaves

4. an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event

  Familiarity information: PALM used as a noun is uncommon.

• PALM (verb)
  The verb PALM has 1 sense:

1. touch, lift, or hold with the hands

  Familiarity information: PALM used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PALM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

palm; thenar

Hypernyms ("palm" is a kind of...):

area; region (a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve)

Meronyms (parts of "palm"):

thenar (the fleshy area of the palm at the base of the thumb)

Holonyms ("palm" is a part of...):

hand; manus; mitt; paw (the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb)

Derivation:

palm (touch, lift, or hold with the hands)

palmar (relating to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A linear unit based on the length or width of the human hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("palm" is a kind of...):

linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)

Derivation:

palm (touch, lift, or hold with the hands)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

palm; palm tree

Hypernyms ("palm" is a kind of...):

tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "palm"):

cabbage palm; Roystonea oleracea (West Indian palm with leaf buds that are edible when young)

sago palm (any of various tropical Asian palm trees the trunks of which yield sago)

royal palm; Roystonea regia (tall feather palm of southern Florida and Cuba)

lady palm (any of several small palms of the genus Rhapis; cultivated as houseplants)

Raffia farinifera; raffia palm; Raffia ruffia (a large feather palm of Africa and Madagascar having very long pinnatisect fronds yielding a strong commercially important fiber from its leafstalks)

Nipa fruticans; nipa palm (any creeping semiaquatic feather palm of the genus Nipa found in mangrove swamps and tidal estuaries; its sap is used for a liquor; leaves are used for thatch; fruit has edible seeds)

cabbage palm; cabbage tree; Livistona australis (Australian palm with leaf buds that are edible when young)

cabbage palm; Euterpe oleracea (Brazilian palm of genus Euterpe whose leaf buds are eaten like cabbage when young)

corozo; corozo palm (any of several tropical American palms bearing corozo nuts)

coco; coco palm; cocoa palm; coconut; coconut palm; coconut tree; Cocos nucifera (tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics)

fishtail palm (attractive East Indian palm having distinctive bipinnate foliage)

calamus (any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus; light tough stems are a source of rattan canes)

fan palm (palm having palmate or fan-shaped leaves)

feather palm (palm having pinnate or featherlike leaves)

Holonyms ("palm" is a member of...):

Arecaceae; family Arecaceae; family Palmaceae; family Palmae; palm family; Palmaceae; Palmae (chiefly tropical trees and shrubs and vines usually having a tall columnar trunk bearing a crown of very large leaves; coextensive with the order Palmales)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

decoration; laurel wreath; medal; medallion; palm; ribbon

Hypernyms ("palm" is a kind of...):

accolade; award; honor; honour; laurels (a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "palm"):

Congressional Medal of Honor; Medal of Honor (the highest U.S. military decoration awarded for bravery and valor in action 'above and beyond the call of duty')

Medaille Militaire (a French military decoration)

Croix de Guerre (a French military decoration for gallantry)

Distinguished Service Order (a British military decoration for special service in action)

Distinguished Conduct Medal (a British military decoration for distinguished conduct in the field)

Victoria Cross (a British military decoration for gallantry)

Oak Leaf Cluster (a United States military decoration consisting of bronze or silver oak leaves and acorns awarded to anyone who has won a given medal before)

Order of the Purple Heart; Purple Heart (a United States military decoration awarded to any member of the armed forces who is wounded in action)

Bronze Star; Bronze Star Medal (a United States military decoration awarded for meritorious service (except in aerial flight))

Silver Star; Silver Star Medal (a United States military decoration for gallantry in action)

Air Medal (a United States Air Force decoration for meritorious achievement while participating in an aerial flight)

Distinguished Flying Cross (a United States Air Force decoration for heroism while participating in an aerial flight)

Navy Cross (a United States Navy decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy)

Distinguished Service Cross (a United States Army decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy)

Distinguished Service Medal (a United States military decoration for meritorious service in wartime duty of great responsibility)

• PALM (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they palm    ... he / she / it palms   
Past simple: palmed   
Past participle: palmed   
-ing form: palming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Touch, lift, or hold with the hands

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

handle; palm

Context example:

Don't handle the merchandise

Hypernyms (to "palm" is one way to...):

touch (make physical contact with, come in contact with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "palm"):

field (catch or pick up (balls) in baseball or cricket)

fumble (handle clumsily)

manipulate (hold something in one's hands and move it)

manhandle (handle roughly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

palm (the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers)

palm (a linear unit based on the length or width of the human hand)

 Context examples 

He captured the hand that invited, and felt on the palm familiar markings and distortions.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

They knew the seal perfectly well; it was as broad as the palm of my hand.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The palm, which is a dry site that typically undergoes a wide range of exposures, was remarkably stable over time.

(Skin microbes fairly stable over time, NIH)

I know Milverton’s house as I know the palm of my hand.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was because he understood the reproof of my action, rather than of my words, that he held up his palm for inspection.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of the palm.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It is characterized by the presence of cutaneous rashes and patches on the palms and soles.

(Acrodermatitis, NCI Thesaurus)

An inherited disorder characterized by the development of keratotic lesions on the palms and soles.

(Diffuse Palmoplantar Keratoderma, NCI Thesaurus)

A superficial fibromatosis arising from the soft tissue of the palm.

(Palmar Fibromatosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked inherited or acquired disorders characterized by the thickening of the palms and soles due to hyperkeratosis.

(Palmoplantar Keratoderma, NCI Thesaurus)