aleis

Old spelling of ALOES. IMG:content-0352.png:[blocks in formation] a-lěc-try-o-măn-çỹ, s . [Gr. ἀλεκτρυών ( alektruōn ) = a cock, and μαντεία (manteia) = divination.] Imagined divination by means of a cock. A circle being described upon the ground, and divided into twenty-four equal portions, each with a letter of the alphabet inscribed in it, and a grain of wheat laid upon the top of a letter, a cock was then turned loose into the area, careful note being taken as to what grains of wheat he ate. The letters under the eaten grains were then made into a word or words, and were supposed to be of value for purposes of prophecy or divination. The practice was said to have existed during the declining period of the Roman empire.