Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An ancient Chinese system of designing buildings and space arrangement according to special rules about the flow of energy, aimed at achieving harmony with the environment.
  • noun In Chinese mythology, a system of spiritual energies, both good and evil, present in the natural features of landscapes.
  • verb transitive To arrange a space according to the rules of feng shui.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Mandarin fēng shuǐ, geomancy, from Middle Chinese fuwŋ ʂyj´ : fuwŋ, wind + ʂyj´, water (from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lwi).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Sinitic 風水 (fēngshuǐ, "wind and water")

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Examples

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Comments

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  • Chinese = wind & water

    pronounced "fong shway"

    A superstitious practice of ensuring good fortune to a house by placing the furniture and fittings at appropriate positions.

    July 14, 2008

  • I usually hear it pronounced "feng shway" around here.

    July 14, 2008

  • 'Foong shway' here. Never mind, the Chinese seem to have dialects on their dialects, several pronunciations do not surprise me.

    July 14, 2008

  • I pronounce it geomancy.

    December 25, 2008