"art or practice of finger-spelling, use of the manual alphabet," 1650s, from chiro- "hand" + -logy "a speaking."
Entries linking to chirology
chiro-
less properly cheiro-, before vowels chir-, word-forming element meaning "hand," from Latinized form of Greek kheiro-, combining form of kheir (genitive kheiros) "the hand," from PIE root *ghes- "hand."
-logy
word-forming element meaning "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Greek -logia (often via French -logie or Medieval Latin -logia), from -log-, combining form of legein "to speak, tell;" thus, "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')." Often via Medieval Latin -logia, French -logie. In philology "love of learning; love of words or discourse," apology, doxology, analogy, trilogy, etc., Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse" is directly concerned.
*ghes-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "the hand."
It forms all or part of: chiral; chiro-; chirognomy; chirography; chirology; chiromancy; chiropodist; chiropractic; chiropractor; chirosophy; chirurgeon; enchiridion; surgeon; surgery; surgical.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek kheir, Hittite keshshar, Armenian jern "the hand"