fascinate
pronunciation
How to pronounce fascinate in British English:
UK [ˈfæsɪneɪt]
How to pronounce fascinate in American English:
US [ˈfæsɪneɪt]
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- Verb:
- cause to be interested or curious
- to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
- attract; cause to be enamored
Word Origin
- fascinate
- fascinate: [16] To fascinate somebody is literally to ‘bewitch’ them. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb fascināre, which was a derivative of fascinum ‘witchcraft’. The Roman phallic deity, incidentally, was named Fascinus, because an amulet in the shape of a penis was hung around children’s necks in ancient times to ward off evil spells.
- fascinate (v.)
- 1590s, "bewitch, enchant," from Middle French fasciner (14c.), from Latin fascinatus, past participle of fascinare "bewitch, enchant, fascinate," from fascinus "a charm, enchantment, spell, witchcraft," which is of uncertain origin. Earliest used of witches and of serpents, who were said to be able to cast a spell by a look that rendered one unable to move or resist. Sense of "delight, attract and hold the attention of" is first recorded 1815. To fascinate is to bring under a spell, as by the power of the eye; to enchant and to charm are to bring under a spell by some more subtle and mysterious power. [Century Dictionary] Possibly from Greek baskanos "slander, envy, malice," later "witchcraft, sorcerery," with form influenced by Latin fari "speak" (see fame (n.)), but others say the resemblance of the Latin and Greek words is accidental. The Greek word might be from a Thracian equivalent of Greek phaskein "to say;" compare enchant, and German besprechen "to charm," from sprechen "to speak." Watkins suggests the Latin word is perhaps from PIE *bhasko- "band, bundle" via a connecting sense of "amulet in the form of a phallus" (compare Latin fascinum "human penis; artificial phallus; dildo"). Related: Fascinated; fascinating. If [baskanos] and fascinum are indeed related, they would point to a meaning 'curse, spell' in a loanword from an unknown third language. [de Vaan]
Example
- 1. It 's a belgium beer brewed by monks who absolutely fascinate me .
- 2. Oshio returned to montreux jazz festival in july 2003 to fascinate more crowds .
- 3. As a catholic , I am touched by assisi and his animals , but loyola and his army fascinate me .
- 4. The experiments fascinate me as a writer on media and the internet , and they fascinate my students at new york university and harvard .
- 5. The teams hope to give the first demonstration of fascinate at the ibc expo in amsterdam in september 2011 , although the system will need further development before it can operate in real time .