Advertisement

Origin and history of enchantment

enchantment(n.)

c. 1300, enchauntement, "act of magic or witchcraft; use of magic; magic power," from Old French encantement "magical spell; song, concert, chorus," from enchanter "bewitch, charm," from Latin incantare "enchant, cast a (magic) spell upon," from in- "upon, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + cantare "to sing" (from PIE root *kan- "to sing"). Figurative sense of "allurement" is from 1670s. Compare Old English galdor "song," also "spell, enchantment," from galan "to sing," which also is the source of the second element in nightingale.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to enchantment

enchant(v.)

late 14c., literal ("practice sorcery or witchcraft on") and figurative ("delight in a high degree, charm, fascinate"), from Old French enchanter "bewitch, charm, cast a spell" (12c.), from Latin incantare "to enchant, fix a spell upon," from in- "upon, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + cantare "to sing" (from PIE root *kan- "to sing"). Or perhaps it is a back-formation from enchantment. For sense evolution, compare German besprechen "to charm," from sprechen "to speak."

incantation(n.)

"art or act of enchanting by uttering magical words, with ceremonies supposed to have magical power; the formula of words or the ceremony employed," late 14c., from Old French incantacion "spell, exorcism" (13c.), from Late Latin incantationem (nominative incantatio) "art of enchanting," noun of action from past-participle stem of incantare "to bewitch, charm, cast a spell upon, chant magic over, sing spells" (see enchantment).

Advertisement

More to explore

spell
early 14c., spellen, "read letter by letter, write or say the letters of;" c. 1400, "form words by means of letters," said in most etymology sources to be from Anglo-French espeller, Old French espelir "to mean, signify; explain, interpret," also "spell out letters, pronounce, re
trance
late 14c., "state of extreme dread or suspense," also "a half-conscious or insensible condition, state of insensibility to mundane things," from Old French transe "fear of coming evil," originally "coma, passage from life to death" (12c.), from transir "be numb with fear," origin
glamour
1720, Scottish, "magic, enchantment" (especially in phrase to cast the glamor), a variant of Scottish gramarye "magic, enchantment...Jamieson's 1825 supplement to his "Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language" has glamour-gift "the power of enchantment...
needfire
times peculiar virtue was attributed to fire thus obtained, which was supposed to have great efficacy in overcoming the enchantment...
experiment
piece of evidence or empirical proof; feat of magic or sorcery," from Old French esperment "practical knowledge, cunning; enchantment...
magic
"of or pertaining to magic; working or produced by enchantment; having supernatural qualities or powers," late 14c., from...
conjuration
exorcism" and directly from Latin coniurationem (nominative coniuratio) "a swearing together, conspiracy," in Medieval Latin "enchantment...
possession
mid-14c., possessioun, "act or fact of holding, occupying, or owning; a taking possession, occupation," also "thing possessed, that which is possessed, material or landed property" (in plural, goods, lands, or rights owned), from Old French possession "fact of having and holding;
nectar
1550s, from Latin nectar, from Greek nektar, name of the drink of the gods, which is perhaps an ancient Indo-European poetic compound of nek- "death" (from PIE root *nek- (1) "death") + -tar "overcoming," from PIE root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome." Sense of "an
recant
"to unsay, to contradict or withdraw a declaration or proposition," 1530s, from Latin recantare "recall, revoke," from re- "back" (see re-) + cantare, literally "to chant, to sing" (from PIE root *kan- "to sing"). The English word is from the Reformation; the Latin verb is a loan

Share enchantment

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near enchantment
Advertisement