enchantment

/enˈtʃæntmənt/en-CHANT-muhnt

/ɛnˈtʃæntmənt/en-CHANT-muhnt

Meaningthe result of singing a spell over

Common meaning: a feeling of delight

Other meanings: a magic spell

enin, into; uponSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 190 · scan
chantto singLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 281 · scan
mentnoun ending: act or result

‘in, into’ + ‘to sing’ → enchantment

Journey through time

Latinin- + cantare (from canere)‘in, into; upon + to sing’source
Latinincantare‘to repeat a chant’source
Old Frenchenchantersource
Middle Englishenchauntensource
Englishenchant‘to delight’
Englishformed in English from enchantenchantment‘a feeling of delight’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from enchant + -ment.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ENCHANT, p.190 · scan

Roots

canō / cantō Latin “to sing”
incantare Latin “to repeat a chant”

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