Talk to the hand??

I would like to find out the derivation and meaning of "raise the palm", which I ran across in a 19th-century text. The context was that a certain behavior would cause a young woman to "raise the palm."

Thanks in advance for any information.

Jeanne Bornstein

raising her hand and confessing to adultry or some other indescretion? or perhaps quieting rowdy children?

It could also mean that she was preparing to slap somebody - perhaps for indiscreet suggestions?

Does this have anything to do with an expression of maybe two years ago in the U.S. -- "talk to the hand"? I never did understand that. Example, a character on a TV sit-com is tired of her boss blathering. She raises her palm and says "talk to the hand." Roughly translated: shut up.

...I like it.