Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
PALM
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin palma palm of the hand, palm tree; from the resemblance of the tree's leaves to the outstretched hand; akin to Greek palamē palm of the hand, Old English folm, Old Irish lám hand Date: before 12th century any of a family (Palmae syn. Arecaceae) of mostly tropical or subtropical monocotyledonous trees, shrubs, or vines with usually a simple stem and a terminal crown of large pinnate or fan-shaped leaves, a leaf of the palm as a symbol of victory or rejoicing, a symbol of triumph or superiority, an addition to a military decoration in the form of a palm frond especially to indicate a second award of the basic decoration, palmlike adjective
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English paume, palme, from Anglo-French, from Latin palma
Date: 14th century
the somewhat concave part of the human hand between the bases of the fingers and the wrist or the corresponding part of the forefoot of a lower mammal, a flat expanded part especially at the end of a base or stalk (as of an anchor), a unit of length based on the breadth or length of the hand, something (as a part of a glove) that covers the palm of the hand, an act of palming (as of cards),
III. transitive verb
Date: 1673
1. to conceal in or with the hand , to take or pick up stealthily, to hand stealthily , to impose by fraud , to touch with the palm: as, to stroke with the palm or hand, to allow (a basketball) to come to rest momentarily in the hand while dribbling thus committing a violation