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leg·er·de·main

(lĕj′ər-də-mān)

1. Sleight of hand.

2. Deceitful cleverness; trickery: financial legerdemain.

[Middle English legerdemayn, from Old French leger de main : leger, light (from Vulgar Latin *leviārius, from Latin levis; see leg^wh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + de, of (from Latin dē; see DE-) + main, hand; see MORTMAIN.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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